8  ** 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


A    NOTICE 


ORIGIN,  PROGRESS,  AND  PRESENT  CONDITION 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES 


PHILADELPHIA 


BY 


W.   S.  W.  RUSCHENBERGER,  M.D. 


JRGEON  U.  S.  NAVY. 


[Read  before  the  Society,  February  10,  1852.] 


The  profit  we  derive  from  the  works  of  creation  will  be  in  proportion  to  the 
accuracy  of  our  knowledge  of  them  and  of  their  properties.' 
KIRBY  AND  SPENCE.    ENTOMOLOGY. 


T.  K.  AND  P.  G.  COLLINS,  PRINTERS. 

1852. 


PHILADELPHIA,  February  12,  1852. 

DR.  W.  S.  W.  RUSCHENBERGER. 

DEAR  SIR: — According  to  the  directions  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences 
of  Philadelphia,  we  transmit  you  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  passed  relative  to 
your  "Notice  of  the  Academy,"  recently  read  before  it. 

While  we  offer  you  our  assurance  of  the  pleasure  afforded  us  in  listening  to 
the  pleasing  details  of  the  "Notice,"  we  would  congratulate  you  upon  the  grati- 
fication you  have  been  enabled  to  confer,  not  only  upon  the  members  of  the 
Academy  but  also  upon  all  other  persons  interested  in  the  progress  of  science, 
by  the  rescue  from  oblivion  of  facts  connected  with  the  infancy  and  growth  of 
the  Institution,  which  must  become  more  and  more  valuable  every  year :  as  well 
as  by  the  satisfactory  manner  in  which  the  records  of  its  more  recent  events  and 
present  condition  are  portrayed. 

With  much  regard,  we  remain  your  fellow-members, 

WM.  S.  VAUX. 

ROBERT  BRIDGES. 

ROBERT  PEARSALL. 

HALL  OF  THE  ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 

February  10,  1852. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Society  held  this  evening,  the  following  Resolutions  were 
unanimously  adopted,  viz. : — 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  Academy  have  listened  with  the  deepest 
interest  and  satisfaction  to  the  "Notice"  just  read. 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Academy  be  presented  to  Dr.  W.  S.  W.  Rusch- 
enberger  for  the  labor  he  has  bestowed  in  the  preparation  of  the  able  and  faithful 
notice  read  by  him  before  the  Society,  and  that  he  be  requested  to  furnish  to  the 
"Committee  on  Proceedings"  a  copy  of  the  same  for  publication. 

Resolved,  That  Messrs.  Wm.  S.  Vaux,  Robert  Bridges,  M.  D.,  and  Robert 
Pearsall,  be  a  committee  to  communicate  to  Dr.  Ruschenberger  the  foregoing 
resolutions. 


PHILADELPHIA,  February  13,  1852. 

GENTLEMEN  : — I  have  had  the  pleasure  to  receive  your  letter  of  the  12th  inst. 
enclosing  a  copy  of  resolutions,  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences  on  the  10th  instant,  conveying  to  me,  in  most  agreeable  terms,  its  appro- 
bation of  my  attempt  to  record  a  true  history  of  the  Institution. 

Your  long  association  with  the  Academy,  your  intimate  acquaintance  with  all 
that  belongs  to  it,  and  your  knowledge  of  the  details  of  every  department,  ac- 
quired through  years  of  personal  labor,  render  your  approval  "of  my  "Address" 
most  valuable  and  gratifying. 

A  copy  of  the  Address  will  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  "  Committee  on 
Proceedings." 

Accept  the  acknowledgments  of  your  fellow-member,  and  believe  me, 

Very  truly,  yours, 
W.  S.  W.  RUSCHENBERGER. 

WM.  S.  VAUX,  ESQ., 

ROBERT  BRIDGES,  M.  D.,    \  Committee. 

ROBERT  PEARSALL,  ESQ., 


A  NOTICE 

OF  THE 

ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES. 


THE  proclivities  of  the  present  age  are  eminently  utilitarian. 
Before  engaging  in  any  pursuit,  men  wish  to  know  in  what  it  can 
profit  them.  Immediate  and  direct  gain  is  an  object  of  common 
desire  ;  hence,  those  vocations  which  promise  a  speedy  compen- 
sation for  labor  are  most  popular,  and  the  paths  travelled  by 
those  who  have  been  fortunate  in  pursuit  of  wealth  are  most 
eagerly  sought.  Agriculture,  the  mechanic  arts,  and  commerce, 
which  supply  the  wants,  the  comforts,  and  luxuries  of  man, 
employ  the  great  masses  of  society.  A  love  of  wealth  is  a 
stronger  incentive  to  toil  than  benevolence ;  the  fame  which 
inures  to  a  labor  unproductive  of  palpable  remuneration  stimulates 
but  few.  Those  branches  of  learning  and  philosophy  which 
facilitate  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  attract  a  larger  number  of 
diligent  votaries  than  those  which  advantageously  influence  the 
condition  of  society,  without  adding  to  the  pecuniary  profit  of 
those  who  pursue  them. 

The  utility,  the  beneficial  influence,  which  natural  history  exer- 
cises on  the  common  interests  of  society  is  not  commonly  under- 
stood, and,  for  this  reason,  the  labors  of  naturalists  are  not  very 
generally  appreciated.  Indeed,  a  vague  meaning  seems  to  be 
attached  to  the  terms  "natural  history,"  and  "natural  sciences." 
Unless  men  comprehend  the  meaning  of  these  names  they  cannot 
perceive  the  utility  of,  or  set  a  value  upon  what  they  are  used  to 
designate. 

Science  and  knowledge  are  not  synonymous ;  there  may  be 
knowledge  without  science.  Acquired  facts  constitute  knowledge ; 
but  a  science  consists  of  any  group  of  congenial  truths  or  facts, 

394812 


4  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

arranged  according  to  any  rational  method,  which  enables  men 
easily  to  perceive  their  general  and  mutual  relations.  Science, 
then,  simply  means  a  systematic  arrangement  of  acquired  facts. 
The  natural  sciences  essentially  consist  in  systematic  arrangements 
of  the  facts  and  phenomena  observed  in  nature. 

In  the  broad  acceptation  of  the  term,  natural  history  includes 
faithful  descriptions  of  all  natural  objects.  Natural  science  does 
not  consist  merely  in  making  a  catalogue  of  all  the  plants  and 
animals  on  the  surface  of  the  globe;  it  embraces  a  history  of  the 
structure,  composition,  mode  of  existence,  and  growth  of  all 
natural  objects,  and  seeks  to  ascertain  the  laws  which  determine 
the  innumerable  shapes  in  which  matter,  both  organic  and  inor- 
ganic, presents  itself  to  our  senses.  All  the  phenomena  observed 
in  the  atmosphere  above,  as  well  as  in  the  earth  beneath,  fall 
within  its  domain.  Chemistry  is  included  among  the  natural 
sciences,  because  the  laws  which  regulate  the  affinities,  the 
motions  ever  existing  among  the  molecules  or  ultimate  atoms 
which  constitute  matter,  are  among  the  subjects  pertaining  to  the 
researches  of  naturalists. 

A  brief  allusion  to  some  branches  of  natural  science  will 
enable  us  to  perceive  that  its  influence  is  advantageously  felt  in 
many  departments  of  those  arts  which  contribute  largely  to  the 
well  being  of  society. 

Botany  does  not  consist  exclusively  in  distinguishing  from  each 
other  the  various  forms  of  vegetation,  and  recognizing  them  by 
names  derived  from  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages.  It  does  not 
teach  us  simply  to  divide  the  world's  flora  into  orders,  tribes, 
families,  genera,  and  species,  according  to  an  arbitrary  system  of 
arrangement,  and  to  know  the  peculiarities  by  which  they  may 
be  certainly  distinguished,  one  from  the  other.  Botany  includes 
a  study  of  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  vegetable  king- 
dom. Through  this  study  we  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  struc- 
ture, mode  of  growth,  and  the  kind  of  diet  upon  which  plants 
depend  for  sustenance,  as  well  as  the  appropriate  functions  of 
their  several  parts,  and  the  circumstances  which  influence  vegeta- 
ble existence.  From  it  we  have  learned  that  plants  derive  nourish- 
ment from  the  earth,  through  means  of  roots  whose  function  is  to 
separate  from  the  soil  those  salts  or  other  materials  which  enter 
into  the  composition  of  their  tissues ;  and  that,  through  the 
medium  of  leaves,  they  breathe  the  air  which  is  essential  to  their 


ACADEMY  OF  NATUKAL  SCIENCES.  5 

vitality,  and,  consequently,  to  the  circulation  of  sap  and  other 
liquids. 

Such  information  is  of  no  small  value  to  the  science  of  agri- 
culture, which  essentially  consists  in  a  knowledge  of  the  most 
successful  means  of  feeding  the  various  plants  cultivated  for  food, 
or  for  materials  to  be  used  in  the  arts  and  manufactures.  When 
the  elementary  composition  of  plants  is  ascertained  through  the 
aid  of  chemistry,  this  knowledge  of  their  vital  functions  enables 
the  agriculturist  to  select  the  soil,  exposure,  and  manures  best 
adapted  for  each  variety  to  obtain  a  lucrative  crop. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  manner  in  which  natural  history  has 
led  to  improved  and  rational  modes  of  cultivation.  The  labors 
of  botanists  have  exploded  many  false  notions  which  prevailed 
among  farmers,  calculated  to  discourage  efforts  to  protect  their 
crops  from  injurious  influences.  A  power  of  self-transmutation 
was  once  attributed  to  plants ;  ignorant  persons  believed  that  some 
species  were  capable'  of  metamorphosing  themselves  into  others. 
It  was  once  asserted  and  believed  that  "  barley  frequently  dege- 
nerates into  oats"  and  even  now  some  credulous  persons  contend 
that  "wheat  is  sometimes  transformed  into  bromus  or  cheat."* 

Even  purely  descriptive  botany  may  be  usefully  applied  to  _ 
agriculture.  Certain  plants,  which  are  injurious  to  cattle,  will 
be  eaten  by  them  when  pasture  is  deficient ;  and  some  noxious 
plants  will  be  eaten  when  dry  and  mingled  with  hay,  which  ani- 
mals reject  in  the  green  state.  A  knowledge  of  descriptive 
botany  would  enable  the  farmer  to  remove  these,  as  well  as  pro- 
fitless weeds,  and  thus  improve  his  grounds  for  the  advantage  of 
his  stock.  The  wild  flora  of  a  country  or  district  affords  a 
valuable  indication  of  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  its  subsoil. 
"  Thus,  the  heath  on  elevations  indicates  a  dry  soil ;  the  fern,  that 
it  is  deep  as  well  as  dry.  The  deer-hair  (Scirpus  ccespitosus]  grows 
commonly  over  bogs,  resting  on  clay.  In  the  lower  situations, 
the  broom  (Spartium  scoparium)  tenants  the  deep  light  gravels. 
The  whin,  the  coarser  gravels  upon  a  clay  subsoil.  The  rush 
(Juncus  conglomeratus)  tells  the  intelligent  farmer  that  good  land 
is  rendered  useless  for  want  of  drainage.  The  common  sprit 
( Juncus  articulatus),  that  the  land  is  not  fertile.  Sweet  gale 

*  Memorials  of  John  Bartram  and  Humphrey  Marshall.     By  William 
\    Darlington,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,  &c.     Philad.,  1849. 


6  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

\ 

(Myrica  Grate],  that  it  is  still  worse.  The  rag-weed  (Senecio  jaco- 
bsea\  in  arable  land,  betrays  an  ill-cultivated  loam.  The  marsh 
marigold  (OaltJia  palmtris),  or  the  wild  water-cress  in  water 
meadows,  tells  the  owner  that  the  land  is  fully  irrigated.  The 
common  rattle  (Rhinanthus  cTiristi]  that  a  meadow  is  exhausted. 
The  pry  (Carex  dioica)  that  water  is  stagnating  beneath  its  sur- 
face ;  and  these  are  only  a  few  of  the  truths  which  wild  flowers 
teach  the  intelligent  cultivator.  '  Botanists  have,  indeed,  long 
been  at  work  for  the  farmer — a  fact  no  one  will  be  willing  to  dis- 
pute who  remembers  that  the  sloe,  the  blackberry,  and  the  crab, 
are  nearly  all  the  fruits  indigenous  to  England;  and  that  hardly 
a  grass,  a  flower,  or  a  vegetable,  that  is  now  cultivated,  is  a  native 
of  the  island."* 

It  is  to  the  study  of  botany  we  are  indebted  for  a  knowledge 
of  certain  vegetable  growths,  which  are  destructive  to  timber. 
"  Mr.  Schweinitz  had,  in  his  collection,  fine  specimens  of  the 
Dematium  aluta,  taken  out  of  the  ships  of  war  built  by  our 
government,  on  Lake  Erie,  where,  in  a  few  years,  he  remarks, 
1  this  little  fungulous  enemy  completely  destroyed  that  fleet  which 
had  so  signally  vanquished  the  armament  of  Britain.'  "f 

Linnaeus,  "by  his  botanical  knowledge,  detected  the  cause  of  a 
dreadful  disease  among  the  horned  cattle  of  the  north  of  Lap- 
land, which  had  previously  been  thought  equally  unaccountable 
and  irremediable."| 

A  large  portion  of  the  materials  employed  in  civil  and  naval 
architecture,  and  many  of  our  most  valuable  medicines,  are  de- 
rived from  the  vegetable  kingdom.  It  is  estimated  that  at  this 
time  there  are  about  85,000  species  of  plants,  which  have  been 
distinctly  characterized.  For  the  means  of  distinguishing  them 
from  each  other,  and  consequently,  for  the  ability  to  recognize, 
amidst  the  host,  those  adapted  to  the  purposes  for  which  we  seek 
them,  we  are  indebted  to  the  labors  of  botanists. 

The  department  of  natural  history  which  relates  to  insects, 
is  less  conspicuous  than  botany ;  but  it  is  not  less  important  in 

*  The  Farmer's  Encyclopaedia.  By  Cuthbert  W.  Johnson,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S., 
&c.  Adapted  to  the  United  States.  By  Gouverneur  Emerson.  Philadel- 
phia, 1844. 

f  A  Memoir  of  the  late  Lewis  David  Von  Schweinitz,  P.  D.  By  Walter 
R.  Johnson.  1835. 

%  James  E.  Smith.     Introduction  to  Botany. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  7 

its  bearings  on  the  interests  of  society.  Naturalists  have  already 
characterized  about  80,000  species  of  insects,  and  their  continued 
investigations  are  still  adding  to  the  number.  The  crustaceans 
(crabs),  arachnidans  (spiders),  annelidans  (worms),  &c.  &c.,  in  all 
about  130,000  species,  were  once  included  in  the  department  of 
entomology. 

Insects  are  the  scavengers  of  nature :  in  pursuit  of  food,  they 
remove  from  the  surface  vast  quantities  of  decaying  and  putres- 
cent  matters,  which,  if  left  undisturbed,  might  so  contaminate 
the  air  as  to  render  it  poisonous  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth. 
Everywhere  they  constitute  a  large  part  of  the  food  of  birds  and 
fishes  ;  and  in  some  countries  certain  species  are  eaten  by  man. 

Various  insects  are  known  to  be  injurious  to  the  grains  and 
grasses  of  our  fields ;  to  the  fruit-trees  of  our  orchards,  and  to 
plants  in  conservatories.  It  is  known  that  some  species  prey 
upon  others  ;  and  that  those  which  feed  on  the  various  aphides,  or 
plant-lice,  may  be  employed  to  relieve  us  from  the  ravages  of  such 
destroyers. 

A  knowledge  of  the  habits,  mode  of  life,  and  of  the  food  of 
the  various  kinds,  leads  to  means  of  escaping  the  injuries  which 
many  of  them  inflict,  and  of  fostering  those  which  are  useful  to 
man.  Doubtless  there  are  some  persons  who  are  not  aware  that 
most  insects  pass  through  four  stages  of  existence :  1,  the  egg ; 
2,  the  caterpillar ;  3,  the  chrysalis,  and  4,  the  butterfly,  or  imago. 
In  order  to  guard  against  the  ravages  of  insects,  it  is  necessary 
to  know  the  stage  of  existence  during  which  they  are  most  inju- 
rious, and  also  to  be  able  to  recognize  the  different  shapes  under 
which  they  appear.  Without  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  phe- 
nomena of  insect  metamorphosis,  it  is  vain  to  attempt  to  control 
their  increase.  The  information  of  Linnaeus  on  this  point, 
enabled  him  to  teach  his  countrymen  to  destroy  an  insect,  the 
Cantharis  navalis,  which  had  cost  the  Swedish  government  many 
thousand  pounds  a  year,  by  its  ravages  on  the  timber  of  one 
dock-yard  only.  After  its  metamorphosis,  and  the  season  when 
the  fly  laid  its  eggs  were  known,  all  its  ravages  were  stopped  by 
immersing  the  timber  in  water  during  that  period.* 

In  1817,  the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Say  described  the  "  Hessian 
Fly,"  Oecidomyia  destructor,  which  commits  great  ravages  on 
growing  wheat ;  and  at  the  same  time  pointed  out  the  Ceraphron 

*  Smith.    Introduction  to  Botany. 


8  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

destructor,  which  probably  restrains  the  increase  of  the  first.  It 
deposits  its  eggs  in  the  bodies  of  the  larvae  of  the  Hessian  Fly, 
and  the  young,  when  they  escape  from  the  egg,  feed  upon  the 
larva  till  it  dies. 

During  the  year  1849,  Miss  Morris,  of  Germantown,  dis- 
covered that  the  Tomicus  liminaris  of  Mr.  Say,  is  a  destroyer 
of  the  peach-tree.  It  bores  through  the  bark  and  feeds  upon  the 
living  portion.  She  has  stated  also  that  the  Baris  tripunctatus, 
of  Mr.  Say,  is  one  of  the  destroyers  of  the  potato,  in  the  stem 
of  which  its  larvae  undergo  their  metamorphoses.  And  Mr.  S.  S. 
Haldeman  ascertained  that  the  Hylesinus  aculeatus,  of  Say, 
feeds  upon  the  inner  bark  of  the  white  ash,  Fraxinus  acuminata. 

There  was  a  time  when  a  loathsome  disease,  which  Van  Hel- 
mont  tells  us  he  contracted  by  shaking  the  gloved  hand  of  a  lady 
friend,  was  treated  by  bleeding,  purging,  and  sweating.  Since 
his  days,  investigations  have  demonstrated  that  this  malady  de- 
pends upon  the  presence  of  an  acarus — the  itch-insect — and  is  to 
be  cured  only  by  destroying  the  animal.  There  are  several  af- 
fections attributed  to  the  acarus  tribe  ;  the  ulcers  caused  by  the 
chigoe  or  jigger  (Pulex  penetrans),  an  insect  which  is  prone 
to  burrow  in  human  flesh,  are  familiarly  spoken  of  by  all  who 
have  visited  the  tropics.  The  harvest-bug  (Leptus  autumnalis) 
buries  itself  in  the  legs  of  laborers  in  the  harvest-field,  pro- 
ducing intolerable  itching  and  pain.  In  cases  of  plica  polonica, 
an  affection  of  the  scalp,  we  are  told  that  millions  of  lice  appear 
on  the  third  day  of  the  disease.  Numerous  affections  have  been 
traced  to  the  larvae  of  flies  deposited  in  the  tissues  of  mammals ; 
a  disease  familiarly  known  as  the  bots,  which  occurs  in  horses, 
sheep,  and  in  man,  has  this  origin.  Worms  of  several  kinds  are 
known  to  thrive  in  the  human  body,  and  to  produce  disease.  In- 
deed, the  affections  known  to  be  caused  by  insects,  spiders,  worms, 
&c.,  are  so  numerous,  that  Easpail  has  ventured  to  construct  a 
system  of  medicine  based  upon  the  animate  origin  of  diseases. 
In  his  work,  may  be  found  a  history  of  many  affections,  caused 
by  the  presence  of  minute  parasitic  insects.* 

Though  many  evils  arise  from  insects,  they  are  also  the  sources 
of  much  that  is  good.  The  product  of  the  silk-worm,  the  wax 

*  Histoire  Naturelle  de  la  Sant6  et  de  la  Maladie  chez  lea  veg6taux  et 
chez  les  animaux  en  general,  et  en  particulier  chez  Phomme.  Par  F.  V. 
Raspail.  Paris,  1843. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATUKAL  SCIENCES.  9 

and  honey  produced  by  the  labor  bees,  are  familiar  to  all.  The 
gall-nut,  which  forms  the  basis  of  one  of  the  most  valuable 
articles  known,  I  mean  ink,  is  due  to  the  labors  of  an  insect  on 
a  variety  of  oak.  Gum  ammoniac,  the  varieties  of  lac  (shell-lac, 
lac-lake,  and  stick-lac),  have  a  similar  origin.  To  various  species 
of  coccus  we  are  indebted  for  several  important  dyes,  among  the 
most  conspicuous  of  which  is  the  cochineal.  The  varieties  of 
cantharides  afford  blistering  materials  ;  and  a  tea  made  of  bees 
has  been  recently  found  useful  in  a  distressing  disease.* 

Within  a  short  time,  the  unexpected  presence  of  microscopic 
insects  in  certain  regions  has  been  supposed  to  show  the  course  of 
the  winds ;  when  their  habits  and  geographical  distribution  are 
fully  ascertained,  their  appearance  in  any  unusual  locality  may 
be  relied  upon  as  an  indication  of  the  direction  of  atmospheric 
currents. 

A  class  of  animals  which  exercises  an  influence  of  such  extent, 
for  good  as  well  as  for  evil,  over  the  condition  of  man,  is  surely 
worthy  of  his  attentive  study. 

Conchologists  have  described  about  15,000  species  of  mollusks. 
They  afford  food  to  man  and  other  animals.  The  strata  of  the 
earth  records  their  antediluvian  existence ;  hence  a  knowledge  of 
conchology  enables  the  geologist  to  recognize  fossil  shells,  the 
presence  of  which  serve  to  characterize  certain  formations. 

Herpetologists  have  made  us  [acquainted  with  about  2,000 
species  of  reptiles,  and  established  the  means  of  distinguishing 
those  which  are  harmless  and  useful  from  those  which  are  poison- 
ous and  fatal. 

Naturalists  have  described  about  10,000  species  of  fishes,  a 
class  of  animals  from  which  man  derives  almost  incalculable 
benefits.  To  be  convinced  of  the  truth  of  this  assertion,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  glance  at  the  extent  and  value  of  the  various 
fisheries  in  the  world. 

About  6,000  species^ of  birds  have  been  described.  _  The  value 
of  the  study  of  ornithology  has  been  so  beautifully  stated  by  one 
of  the  earliest  members  of  the  Academy,  that  I  will  quote  his 
language.  Alexander  Wilson,  in  the  preface  to  the  fifth  volume 
of  his  "American  Ornithology"  says : — 

"  In  treating  of  those  birds  more  generally  known,  I  have 
endeavored  to  do  impartial  justice  to  their  respective  characters. 

*  Dunglison  on  New  Remedies,  p.  703.    Philadelphia,  1851.  — 


10  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

Ignorance  and  stubborn-rooted  opinions,  even  in  this  country, 
have  rendered  some  odious  that  are  eminently  useful ;  and  involved 
the  manners  of  others  in  fable  and  mystery,  which  in  themselves 
are  plain  and  open  as  day.  To  remove  prejudices,  "when  they 
oppose  themselves  to  the  influence  of  humanity,  is  a  difficult,  and 
when  effected,  a  most  pleasing  employment.  If,  therefore,  in 
divesting  this  part  of  natural  history  of  our  country  of  many  of 
its  fables  and  most  forbidding  features,  and  thus  enabling  our 
youth  to  become  more  intimately  acquainted  with  this  charming 
portion  of  the  feathered  creation,  I  should  have  succeeded  in 
multiplying  their  virtuous  enjoyments,  and  in  rendering  them 
more  humane  to  those  little  choristers,  how  gratifying  to  my  heart 
would  be  the  reflection  !  For,  to  me,  it  appears  that,  of  all  infe- 
rior creatures,  Heaven  seems  to  have  intended  birds  as  the  most 
cheerful  associates  of  man  ;  to  soothe  and  exhilarate  him  in  his 
labors  by  their  varied  melody,  of  which  no  other  creature  but 
man  is  capable ;  to  prevent  the  increase  of  those  inferior  hosts  of 
insects  that  would  soon  consume  the  products  of  his  industry;  to 
glean  up  the  refuse  of  his  fields,  'that  nothing  may  be  lost/  and, 
what  is  of  much  more  interest,  to  be  to  him  the  most  endearing 
examples  of  the  tenderest  connubial  love  and  parental  affection." 

Under  the  head  of  mammalogy,  naturalists  have  described 
about  2,000  species  of  animals,  which,  while  young,  subsist  on 
the  milk  of  their  mothers.  All  known  quadrupeds,  whales,, 
dolphins,  &c.,  are  included  in  this  class..  Amongst  them-^re 
our  beasts  of  burden,  the  cattle  of  our  fields,  and  domesticated 
animals  of  many  kinds.  They  are  familiar  to  all ;  but  perhaps, 
every  one  is  not  aware  that  a  full  knowledge  of  their  nature  con- 
tributes to  the  improvement  of  agricultural  stock,  and  affords 
indications  of  rational  methods  of  treating  the  diseases  to  which 
domestic  animals  are  obnoxious. 

Mineralogy  teaches  the  characters  by  which  simple  minerals 
or  stones  may  be  recognized  and  distinguished  from  each  other. 
The  costly  errors  into  which  persons  totally  ignorant  of  this 
science  have  fallen  illustrates  its  utility.  A  man  in  England 
found  upon  his  farm  a  great  quantity  of  sulphate  of  barytes, 
and,  believing  from  its  weight  that  it  must  be  a  rich  ore  of  leadj 
expended  a  large  sum  in  building  a  furnace  for  smelting  itv 
Another  paid  a  considerable  amount  of  money  for  a  few  pieces 
of  white  topaz,  which  he  conceived  to  be  diamonds.  Men  in 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  11 

other  respects  intelligent,  producing  iron  pyrites,  in  triumphant 
proof  that  they  have  discovered  a  mine  of  gold,  is  an  event  of 
frequent  occurrence.  About  a  hundred  years  ago,  a  house  was 
built  in  Baltimore  of  bricks  imported  from  England;  yet  beneath 
the  site  of  the  garden,  and  neatly  laid  out  grounds,  once  the 
pride  of  the  owner,  was  a  bed  of  clay  which  has  afforded  and 
continues  to  afford  material  for  millions  of  bricks.  A  very  slight 
knowledge  of  mineralogy  would  have  been  sufficient  to  prevent 
such  blunders. 

Chemistry  is  essential  to  a  perfect  acquaintance  with  miner- 
alogy. The  utility  of  chemistry  is  perhaps  more  generally 
palpable  than  any  other  branch  of  natural  science.  To  the  labors 
of  chemical  philosophers  society  is  indebted  for  many  comforts 
and  luxuries.  The  discovery  of  a  gas  adapted  to  the  purposes  of 
illumination  has  been  followed  by  trades  and  occupations  not 
previously  known  or  required ;  gas-fitting,  and  the  manufacture  of 
gas,  as  well  as  daguerreotyping,  are  among  the  vocations  brought 
into  existence  exclusively  through  the  study  of  chemistry. 
Indeed,  the  applications  of  this  beautiful  science  to  the  practical 
purposes  of  mankind  are  almost  innumerable. 

Geology  cannot  be  successfully  prosecuted  without  a  knowledge 
of  other  branches  of  natural  science.  Mineralogy  is  necessary 
to  understand  the  composition  of  aggregate  rocks;  and  botany 
and  the  different  departments  of  zoology  enable  us  to  trace  back, 
through  the  progress  of  time,  the  various  steps  in  the  formation 
of  the  earth  to  a  period  in  the  creation  when  no  organic  form  ex- 
isted, either  upon  dry  land  or  beneath  the  waters.  The  record  is 
indelibly  written  in  the  fossil  remains  of  animals  and  plants ;  and 
it  cannot  be  read  by  one  entirely  ignorant  of  osteology  and  com- 
parative anatomy. 

A  knowledge  of  geology  is  valuable  to  the  engineer  in  locating 
roads.  The  study  of  geology  and  mineralogy  has  developed 
those  principles  which  facilitate  the  search  for  coal-beds  and  veins 
of  metallic  ores;  clays  used  in  the  manufacture  of  the  varieties 
of  porcelain,  pottery,  and  bricks  ;  quarries  of  marble  and  stone ; 
and  through  this  study  architects  may  acquire  knowledge  which 
will  assist  them  in  judging  of  the  strength,  durability,  and  com- 
parative value  of  the  varieties  of  building  stone,  and  in  selecting 
those  best  adapted  to  their  purposes.  The  utility  of  geology  has 
been  publicly  acknowledged:  many  States  of  the  Union  have 


12  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

been  at  the  expense  of  geological  surveys,  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  their  mineral  resources. 

A  knowledge  of  natural  history,  generally,  facilitates  the 
economic  exploration  of  new  countries,  and  enables  the  traveller, 
almost  at  a  glance,  to  perceive  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  climate, 
as  well  as  the  value  and  qualities  of  their  vegetable  and  mineral 
productions.  But  among  the  many  benefits  which  the '  natural 
sciences  confer  upon  society,  there  is  none  more  valuable  than  the 
assistance  they  afford  to  the  study  of  the  laws  of  life,  upon  an  accu- 
rate knowledge  of  which  a  rational  system  of  medicine,  a  true  medi- 
cal science,  must  be  based.  Physiology  is  indebted  for  its  present 
state  of  advancement,  almost  exclusively  to  the  assiduous  culti- 
vation of  the  natural  sciences. 

The  rapid  sketch  above  given  is  sufficient  to  indicate  the  use- 
fulness of  the  natural  sciences.  Notwithstanding  the  utility, 
their  cultivation  has  been  erroneously  supposed  to  lead  to  reli- 
gious infidelity;  and,  therefore,  its  votaries  have  been  regarded 
with  suspicion.  The  history  of  the  progress  of  geology  records 
how  violently  prejudice  and  ignorance  were  arrayed  in  opposition 
to  the  investigations  of  natural  objects.  There  was  a  time  when, 
"had  there  been  a  Protestant  inquisition  in  England,"  says  Sir 
David  Brewster,  "  the  geologists  of  the  north  would  have  been 
immured  in  its  deepest  dungeons." 

"  Truth,  however,  marched  apace ;  and,  though  her  simple 
and  majestic  procession  be  often  solemn  and  slow,  and  her  vota- 
ries few  and  dejected;  yet  on  this,  as  on  every  occasion,  she 
triumphed  over  the  most  inveterate  prepossessions,  and  finally 
took  up  her  abode  in  those  very  halls  and  institutions  where  she 
had  been  persecuted  and  reviled.  When  their  science  had  been 
thus  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  impiety  and  irreligion,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Geological  Society  left  their  humble  and  timid  position 
of  being  the  collectors  only  of  the  materials  of  future  generaliza- 
tions, and  became  at  once  the  most  successful  observers  of 
geological  phenomena,  and  the  boldest  'asserters  of  geological 
truth."* 

Nothing  has  been  formed  in  vain.  It  is  among  the  pleasures 
of  a  Christian  to  believe  that  God,  in  his  bountiful  goodness, 

*  Hugh  Miller :  Sketches  of  his  Life  and  Writings.  By  Sir  David  Brews- 
ter, Bart. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  13 

created  every  animate  and  inanimate  thing  in  nature  for  the 
benefit  of  man.  A  sense  of  gratitude  alone  should  induce  him 
to  examine  and  learn  the  properties  of  those  gifts,  upon  the 
proper  use  and  appreciation  of  which  depend,  in  a  great  degree, 
his  health,  his  happiness,  and  duration  of  life  in  this  world. 

To  understand  natural  history  perfectly  in  all  its  departments, 
is  to  he  able  to  perceive  and  describe  the  wonders  of  the  crea- 
tion. Every  step  in  its  study  is  a  step  in  the  pursuit  of  truth. 
No  man  can  follow  long  in  the  path  without  being  convinced  that 
material  atoms  possess  in  themselves  no  formative  quality,  which 
enables  them  to  unite  spontaneously  to  produce  an  animal,  a 
vegetable,  or  a  mineral  form.  The  complex  arrangement,  the 
adaptation  of  parts  to  each  other,  the  economy  of  means  in  the 
fulfilment  of  a  definite  purpose,  indicate  that  design  existed  pre- 
vious to  the  existence  of  organic  form  and  life.  It  is  impossible 
to  believe  that  atoms  are  self-endowed  with  ability  to  aggregate 
themselves  together  into  any  organized  shape  at  pleasure,  either 
as  a  bird,  or  snail,  or  other  being,  in  obedience  to  impulses  of 
affection  or  aversion.  The  student  of  nature  must  perceive 
there  is  no  spontaneity  in  matter,  and  that  the  infinitely  various 
forms  which  result  from  the  combination  of  its  elements,  are  due 
exclusively  to  laws  imposed  upon  them  in  the  beginning,  by  the 
OMNISCIENT  MASTER  AND  ARCHITECT  of  all  created  things. 

A  naturalist  cannot  be  an  atheist.  Absolute  truth,  which  "  is 
the  extreme  limit  of  human  knowledge,"  includes  no  incom- 
patibility. The  facts  and  phenomena  of  the  physical  universe 
are  in  beautiful  harmony  with  each  other,  and  those  who  observe 
them  understandingly  are  inevitably  led  to  bow  in  humble  adora- 
tion before  the  inscrutable  First  Cause.  The  phenomena  of 
God's  works  cannot  be  inconsistent  with  God's  truth,  with  God's 
revelations  to  man.  When  partially,  or  imperfectly  observed, 
facts  may  seem  to  conflict  with  each  other,  and  with  the  sacred 
Word;  but  the  moment  all  their  mutual  relations  have  been 
ascertained,  the  perfect  harmony  which  exists  between  the  facts 
of  the  universe  and  their  Creator  becomes  manifest. 

To  ascertain  and  understand  the  laws  of  God,  exhibited  in  the 
structure  of  the  globe,  and  in  the  living  organizations  which 
exist  on  its  surface ;  to  bring  to  light  whatever  may  lie  hidden 
in  the  obscure  recesses  of  nature ;  to  expose  Truth  in  her  naked- 
ness, stripped  of  the  distorting  disguises  in  which  ignorance  and 


14  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

superstition  combine  to  hide  her  charms  from  the  gaze  of  man- 
kind, are  among  the  objects  of  the  natural  sciences.  Such  ob- 
jects are  not  and  cannot  be  inconsistent  with  the  duties  or  the 
feelings  of  a  true  Christian. 

The  study  of  natural  history  has  a  happy  influence  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  intellect.  While  it  tends  to  tranquillize  and 
strengthen  the  mind,  and  to  release  it  from  the  thraldom  of 
superstition  and  credulity,  it  refines  the  taste,  and  teaches  man 
to  appreciate  justly  the  beauties  and  wisdom  of  nature.  It  is  a 
drill,  an  exercise  of  the  faculties  in  discriminating  resemblances 
and  in  contrasting  differences,  and  in  the  separation  of  truth  from 
error.  It  enables  us  "  to  derive  from  objects  that  everywhere 
present  themselves  in  our  rural  walks,  not  only  amusement  and 
instruction,  but  the  highest  incitements  to  piety  and  virtue."* 
If  it  had  no  other  object  than  to  familiarize  man  with  the  won- 
ders of  the  creation,  intelligent  people  must  perceive  in  this  a 
sufficient  inducement  to  encourage  its  study. 

To  corroborate  the  assertion  that  the  study  of  the  natural 
sciences  is  not  incompatible  with  Christianity,  a  number  of  pious 
clergymen  who  have  acquired  wide-spread  reputation  as  geolo- 
gists, botanists,  &c.,  might  be  named,  though  it  does  not  seem 
necessary.  Nor  is  this  study  inconsistent  with  any  of  the  voca- 
tions of  life.  It  may  be  pursued  as  an  accomplishment,  as  men 
study  music  or  drawing ;  or  as  a  pleasant  relaxation  from  ordi- 
nary duties,  or  as  an  agreeable  occupation  for  their  leisure 
hours.  In  this  connection,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences  owes  its  present  condition  entirely  to  the 
labors  of  its  members,  nearly  all  of  whom  have  been  daily  occu- 
pied, from  necessity,  in  the  practice  of  the  professions,  or  as 
merchants,  or  manufacturers,  or  mechanics.  Theoretically,  this 
Society  does  not  consist  of  men  already  learned;  but  of  men  who 
desire  to  become  acquainted  with  Nature  and  her  laws,  and  who 
are  fully  sensible  of  the  great  benefits  which  increased  knowledge 
of  the  creation  must  confer  upon  mankind.  In  a  word,  the  in- 
stitution is  an  academy,  a  school  of  learners  rather  than  an  asso- 
ciation of  learned  men. 

It  is  urged  that  the  natural  sciences  are  eminently  useful  to 
agriculture,  to  the  arts,  and  to  medicine,  and  for  this  reason, 

*  Life  of  Alexander  Wilson.    By  George  Ord,  F.L.  S.,  &c. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  15 

their  study  is  worthy  of  the  fostering  care  and  encouragement 
of  the  community.  But  an  opinion  is  not  to  be  inferred,  from  this, 
and  attributed  to  the  writer,  that  it  is  necessary  or  even  proper 
that  every  farmer,  every  artisan,  and  every  physician  should  be 
a  naturalist.  We  know  that  men,  ignorant  of  natural  history, 
successfully  cultivate  the  soil,  work  at  various  trades,  and  prac- 
tice medicine;  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  those  vocations, 
many  of  them  very  lucrative,  derive  the  principles  upon  which 
they  are  based  from  the  studies  and  investigations  of  naturalists. 
One  object  of  such  studies  is  to  ascertain  and  establish  principles, 
and  to  render  them  so  plain,  and  simple  in  application  to  every- 
day pursuits,  that  they  may  be  available  to  those  of  least  learn- 
ing and  intelligence.  It  needs  no  argument  to  prove  that  the 
successful  pursuit  of  such  an  object  is  useful  and  worthy  of 
commendation.  The  influence  of  the  natural  sciences  is  analo- 
gous to  that  of  mathematics,  which  is  everywhere  regarded  as 
an  essential  branch  of  liberal  education.  Very  few  of  the  thou- 
sands of  men  who  navigate  the  ocean,  build  ships,  construct 
steam-engines  and  various  complicated  machines,  and  guide  them 
when  in  operation,  have  studied  the  problems  of  Euclid,  or 
even  heard  of  the  Principia  of  Newton ;  but  no  one  has  ever 
been  bold  enough  to  assert,  for  such  reasons,  that  the  science  of 
mathematics  is  not  essential  to  the  art  of  navigation,  to  naval 
architecture,  or  to  the  vocations  of  millwrights,  machinists,  or 
engineers. 

A  few  of  our  fellow-citizens,  aware  of  the  benefits  which  flow 
from  an  accurate  and  minute  knowledge  of  natural  objects,  to 
every  class  in  society,  have  joined  together,  in  a  spirit  of  bene- 
volence and  liberality,  to  furnish  means  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
natural  sciences.  The  result  of  their  efforts,  through  a  period 
of  forty  years,  is  seen  in  the  Library  and  Museum  of  this  Institu- 
tion, which  are  accessible  by  the  public  without  cost,  and  without 
any  restrictions  other  than  those  necessary  to  preserve  them  from 
injury  or  loss.  Gratuitous  tickets  of  admission  to  the  Museum 
on  Tuesdays  and  Fridays,  may  be  obtained  by  applying  to  any 
member  of  the  Institution. 

The  Hall  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia 
stands  at  the  north-west  corner  of  Broad  and  George  Streets,  on 
a  lot  of  ground  measuring  fifty  by  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet. 
The  building  is  of  brick,  fire-proof  throughout,  and  unpretending 


16  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

in  its  exterior  design  and  finish.  It  extends  forty-five  feet  on 
Broad,  and  one  hundred  and  fifteen  feet  on  George  Streets,  with 
an  elevation  of  fifty  feet.  When  built,  in  the  year  1839,  the 
George  Street  front  was  eighty-five  feet ;  but,  in  1847,  the  edifice 
was  enlarged  to  its  present  dimensions,  to  accommodate  the 
Wilson  collection  of  birds.  The  hall  is  divided  into  a  basement 
and  a  single  story  above. 

It  is  accessible  by  two  doors ;  the  George  Street  door  opens  to 
the  Library  only ;  the  front  or  Broad  Street  entrance  is  used, 
almost  exclusively,  by  visitors  to  the  Museum. 

The  principal  story  consists  of  a  single  apartment  or  saloon. 
It  is  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  long,  and  forty-two  feet  wide,  and 
is  lighted  from  the  roof  and  the  east  and  west  extremities.  On 
the  north  and  south  sides  are  three  galleries,  which,  with  the 
exception  of  the  lowest,  are  supported  by  graceful  iron  columns  ; 
four  ranges  of  vertical  cases  are  placed  against  the  walls,  and  a 
range  of  foot-cases,  at  the  outer  edge  of  the  second  and  third 
galleries.  Shallow  cases  are  suspended  horizontally  on  the  rail 
of  the  lowest  or  flying  gallery.  On  the  west  side  are  three  gal- 
leries and  four  ranges  of  vertical  cases.  The  floor  is  occupied 
by  three  ranges  of  broad  horizontal  cases,  extending  the  length 
of  the  hall ;  and  each  is  surmounted  in  the  centre  line  by  a 
series  of  vertical  cases,  two  feet  and  a  half  high,  glazed  on  both 
sides. 

At  the  eastern,  or  Broad  Street  extremity,  on  each  side,  is  a 
strong  vertical  case,  containing  the  skeletons  of  large  fossil 
saurians,  imbedded  in  massive  slabs  of  lias  limestone.  Above 
the  case  on  the  south  side  are  suspended  the  portraits  of  William 
Maclure,  William  Hembel,  and  Samuel  George  Morton ;  and 
above  that  of  the  north  side,  those  of  Thomas  Say,  George  Ord, 
and  Gerard  Troost,  all  distinguished  members,  and,  during  many 
years  of  their  lives,  official  servants  of  the  Institution. 

The  basement  is  divided  into  five  apartments ;  two  on  the  west, 
two  on  the  east,  and  one  on  the  north  of  the  hall,  or  vestibule 
connected  with  the  George  Street  entrance. 

The  north-east  basement  room  is  nine  feet  by  sixteen,  and  has 
a  gallery  with  two  ranges  of  vertical  cases  on  three  sides  of  it. 

The  east  basement  room  is  forty-one  feet  in  length  by  forty 
in  breadth,  with  a  gallery  and  two  ranges  of  vertical  cases  on 
four  sides.  Vertical  cases  form  a  central  partition,  which  has  a 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  17 

continuous  gallery  on  each  side.  Horizontal  cases  occupy  the 
floor. 

The  north  basement-room  is  twenty  by  twenty-eight  feet ;  it 
is  used  as  a  workshop. 

The  south-west  basement-room  is  twenty  by  twenty-four  feet. 
It  is  surrounded  by  a  gallery  and  two  ranges  of  vertical  cases. 

The  west  basement-room  is  twenty-eight  by  forty-two  feet.  It 
has  a  gallery  and  two  ranges  of  vertical  cases  on  its  I  four  walls, 
and  cases  extend  from  the  north  and  south  sides,  several  feet 
towards  the  centre.  This  apartment  communicates  with  the 
main  saloon  by  a  flight  of  broad  stairs. 

The  south  and  west  rooms  contain  the  library ;  the  sessions  of 
the  Society  are  held  in  the  latter. 

This  brief  description  of  the  building  will  serve  to  introduce 
the  reader  to  the  several  departments  of  the  Museum. 

The  collections  are  extensive  in  several  departments,  and,  with 
very  few  exceptions,  all  are  still  in  process  of  classification.  The 
entire  work  of  arrangement  devolves  upon  the  members,  whose 
ordinary  vocations  permit  them  to  devote  to  it  only  the  leisure 
moments  which  most  men  spend  in  amusements.  Only  a  few  of 
them,  a  part  of  those  composing  the  standing  committees,  afe 
able  to  give  any  portion  of  the  day  to  assist  in  this  very  tedious 
task.  Every  department  receives  a  due  share  of  attention ;  and 
though  all  advance  slowly,  enough  has  been  accomplished  to  de- 
serve high  commendation.  It  should  be  remembered  that  no 
pecuniary  profit  accrues  from  the  labor  and  pains  bestowed  in 
labelling  and  displaying  the  very  many  thousands  of  objects, 
which  have  been  brought  together  here,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
-diffusing  knowledge  among  our  fellow-citizens. 

It  is  our  pleasure  to  hope  that  the  Academy  will  be  cheered  on 
in  its  course,  till  the  Museum  shall  become  an  epitome  of  all 
created  things ;  so  fully  displayed,  that  the  student  may  resort  to 
it  with  a  certainty  of  learning  what  has  been  ascertained  in  the 
world  of  nature;  just  as  inventors  now  seek  the  Patent  Office 
to  learn  whether  they  have  been  preceded  in  mechanical  discovery, 
before  offering  to  the  public  any  machine  which  they  suppose  to 
be  new.  Here  should  be  seen  representatives  from  every  de- 
partment of  the  earthly  creation — collected  from  every  accessible 
region — from  mountain,  and  valley,  and  plain ;  from  rivers,  and 
lakes,  and  seas;  and  the  burial-places,  far  down  beneath  the  sur- 
2 


18  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

face  whereon  man  dwells,  should  be  made  to  yield  from  their  stony 
embrace,  those  petrified  relics  of  a  past,  which  has  no  history 
except  what  they  record.  The  Museum  of  the  Academy  should 
be,  indeed,  an  office  filled  with  Nature's  patents,  in  which  all  may 
behold  the  wonders  it  has  pleased  an  all-wise  Creator  to  devise 
for  the  benefit  and  instruction  of  man. 

The  collections  of  the  Academy  may  be  considered  under 
eighteen  different  heads. 

1.  MAMMALOGY. 

The  difficulty  and  expense  of  obtaining  large  quadrupeds,  and 
the  space  required  for  their  proper  display,  have  opposed  the  in- 
crease of  this  department  of  the  Museum.  Indeed,  it  scarcely 
had  a  beginning  until  within  a  few  years.  Among  those  who 
early  contributed  to  it,  were  Mr.  John  Speakman,  Mr.  Jacob 
Gilliams,  Dr.  Harlan,  Mr.  Reuben  Haines,  Dr.  M.  Burrough, 
Dr.  C.  Hering,  Dr.  Wm.  Blanding,  Dr.  Ruschenberger,  and 
some  others.  But,  within  five  years  past,  this  collection  has  been 
much  augmented  by  donations  from  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  Dr.  J.  K. 
Townsend,  W.  E.  Strickland,  Esq.,  Rev.  Dr.  Bachman,  Capt. 
Wm.  McMichael,  Dr.  G.  Watson,  Mr.  Wm.  Wood,  Mr.  L.  J. 
Germain,  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  Dr.  E.  K.  Kane,  of  the 
navy,  and  others. 

The  mammals  are  placed  in  cases  on  the  floor  of  the  main  hall, 
beneath  the  north  flying  gallery.  The  collection,  though  not  ex- 
tensive, contains  representatives  of  most  of  the  American  genera ; 
and  many  of  the  specimens  possess  very  considerable  interest. 
Among  those  worthy  of  mention  here,  are  the  original  specimen 
of  the  Clilamyphorus  truncatus,  a  small  animal  described  by  Dr. 
Harlan;  an  albino  deer  (Cervus  Virginianus),  presented  by  Dr. 
Wilson;  the  original  specimen  of  Lupus  gigas,  or  giant  wolf, 
described  by  Dr.  J.  K.  Townsend ;  and  the  sacred  monkey  of  Siam, 
or  Hylolates  agitts.* 

Dr.  J.  K.  Townsend  presented  a  collection  of  mammals,  made 
during  his  visit  to  Oregon,  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  We  are 
indebted  to  Dr.  Wilson,  for  a  hundred  specimens,  originally  de- 

*  A  specimen  of  Hippopotamus  Liberiensis,  which  is  at  this  time  unique, 
was  received  in  January,  1852,  since  thia  notice  was  prepared. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  19 

scribed  by  C.  L.  Bonaparte,  in  his  "  Fauna  Italica" ;  and  to  Dr. 
E.  K.  Kane,  of  the  navy,  for  an  Esquimaux  dog,  and  a  very  fine 
specimen  of  Ursus  maritimus,  or  polar  bear,  killed  by  him  during 
a  recent  voyage  to  the  Arctic  regions,  in  search  of  Sir  John  Frank- 
lin. As  soon  as  practicable,  recent  additions  to  the  Museum  are 
appropriately  mounted. 

The  collection  of  mammals,  including  those  in  alcohol,  in  skin, 
and  mounted,  numbers  636  specimens,  representing  about  200 
species  of  90  genera. 

2.  ORNITHOLOGY. 

The  attention  of  members  of  the  Academy  was  attracted  to 
this  department  of  natural  science  at  an  early  period.  The  pub- 
lication of  Wilson's  American  Ornithology,  about  the  time  of  the 
foundation  of  the  Institution,  and  works  on  this  subject  by  George 
Ord,  Charles  Lucien  Bonaparte,  and  J.  J.  Audubon,  published 
in  succession,  widely  diffused  a  taste  for  this  elegant  study. 

Mr.  Thomas  Say,  (whose  early  social  association  with  Mr.  Wm. 
Bartram,  and  Alexander  Wilson,  probably  directed  his  attention 
to  the  study  of  birds,)  was  the  first  to  present  specimens  to  the 
Museum.  He  and  Mr.  Gilliams  commenced  this  department. 

In  the  year  1837,  the  collection  contained  about  1,000  species, 
of  which  one  half  were  displayed  in  the  cases.  This  series  in- 
cluded 250  species  of  the  birds  of  Surinam,  presented  by  Dr. 
Hering ;  and  more  than  200  species  of  the  birds  of  India,  many 
of  them  rare,  had  been  presented  by  the  late  Dr.  Burrough,  "  who, 
during  his  extensive  travels  in  Hindostan,  the  Indian  Archipelago, 
and  South  America,  [always]  availed  himself  of  every  occasion  to 
increase  [the  Academy's]  collections  in  all  departments  of  Natural 
History."  "  Much  is  also  owing,"  says  Dr.  Morton,  "  to  the  liber- 
ality of  Mr.  Audubon,  Dr.  McEuen,  Dr.  Mervin,  Dr.  Huffnagle, 
Dr.  J.  W.  Russell,  Dr.  McMurtrie,  Dr.  Harlan,  Mr.  J.  K.  Town- 
send,  Dr.  Ruschenberger,  Dr.  J.  C.  Jenkins,  Dr.  Trudeau,  and 
the  late  Mr.  W.  S.  Warder ;  but,  in  this  department,  the  Society 
is  under  particular  obligations  to  Dr.  McEuen,  by  whose  personal 
exertions  the  collection  has  mainly  attained  its  present  extent  and 
admirable  preservation  in  the  short  period  of  eight  years."* 

*  Notice  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  of  Philadelphia.  Fourth, 
edition,  1837. 


20  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

Since  the  time  when  the  ahove  notice  was  written,  the  collection 
of  birds,  which  is  exhibited  in  the  principal  hall  of  the  Academy, 
has  grown  to  be  the  most  extensive  and  the  very  best  in  the  world. 
Its  progress  is  intimately  blended  with  that  of  the  Institution ; 
its  history  may  be  properly  related  in  this  place. 

From  1837  until  the  commencement  of  the  year  1846,  about 
550  specimens  were  added  to  this  collection  through  the  liberality 
of  Mr.  John  Cassin,  Mr.  S.  F.  Baird,  Dr.  George  C.  Leib,  Dr. 
A.  L.  Heerman,  Mr.  S.  W.  Woodhouse,  Mr.  John  Morphett,  Dr. 
G.  Watson, 'and  others.  In  the  year  1842,  Professor  Holbrook 
presented  76  specimens,  part  of  the  collection  of  Mr.  Ruppell; 
and  in  February  1846,  the  late  R.  C.  Taylor,  Esq.  presented  a 
collection  of  birds  from  Cuba. 

In  September,  1846,  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson  deposited  in  the  Academy 
more  than  12,000  specimens,  a  collection  made  in  Paris,  by  the 
Prince  of  Essling,  Due  de  Rivoli,  which  Dr.  Wilson  purchased 
through  the  agency  of  his  brother  Mr.  Edward  Wilson,  a  corre- 
spondent of  the  Academy,  resident  in  England.  To  accommodate 
this  large  and  magnificent  collection,  Dr.  Wilson  enlarged  the 
building  to  its  present  dimensions  at  his  private  expense ;  and  in 
November,  all  the  ornithological  specimens  belonging  to  the  Insti- 
tution were  merged  in  it.  The  south-west  basement-room  was 
completed,  and  the  Society  met  in  it  for  the  first  time,  May  4, 
1847. 

In  the  same  month,  Dr.  Wilson  purchased  in  England  a  col- 
lection of  Australian  birds,  made  by  the  distinguished  ornithologist 
Mr.  John  Gould ;  it  consists  of  about  2,000  specimens,  and  com- 
prises those  from  which  the  drawings  were  made  for  his  splendid 
work,  "  The  Birds  of  Australia."  This  addition  induced  Dr. 
Wilson,  with  the  ready  assent  of  the  Academy,  to  prepare  the 
lecture-room  in  the  basement,  which  had  been  rarely  needed,  for 
the  reception  of  a  part  of  the  Museum. 

During  the  same  year  the  Academy  received  about  1,000  speci- 
mens, which  constituted  the  fine  collection  of  parrots,  and  coni- 
rostral  birds,  made  by  M.  Boucier,  an  ornithologist,  of  the  city 
of  Lyons. 

Subsequently,  a  collection  of  birds  of  Western  America,  made 
by  Dr.  Wm.  Gambel;  and  another  of  birds  of  Western  Africa, 
made  by  Mr.  John  Cassin,  during  a  period  of  about  fifteen 
years,  were  added  by  Dr.  Wilson.  Mr.  Edward  Harris  presented 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  21 

several  specimens  of  unusual  value,  together  with  his  entire  col- 
lection, made  during  the  long  period  of  his  association  with  Mr. 
Auduhon. 

Various  collections,  including  several  hundred  specimens  from 
the  Museum  of  the  celebrated  ornithologist  M.  Temminck,  of  Ley- 
den,  as  well  as  a  large  number  from  the  British  Museum,  making 
an  aggregate  of  several  thousands,  have  been  obtained  through 
the  exertions  of  Mr.  Edward  Wilson,  and  are  now  in  the  cases. 

Mr.  E.  L.  Kern  has  deposited  many  valuable  specimens,  col- 
lected in  the  various  expeditions  of  exploration  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Fremont. 

Nearly  1,000  specimens,  collected  in  the  interior  of  India,  by 
Captain  Boys,  of  the  British  army,  many  of  which  are  new  and 
rare,  have  also  been  received. 

Valuable  contributions  to  this  department  have  been  made  by 
Colonel  George  A.  McCall,  TJ.  S.  Army. 

In  the  month  of  December,  1851,  the  collection  of  Mr.  John 
Krider,  consisting  of  2,000  specimens,  was  procured  by  Dr. 
T.  B.  Wilson,  and  is  now  in  the  hall. 

Arrangements  have  been  made  in  Europe,  to  add  still  whatever 
may  be  new  or  rare  in  ornithology. 

The  collection  is  estimated  to  contain  at  this  time  27,000  speci- 
mens ;  of  these  not  less  than  22,000  are  displayed  in  the  cases, 
to  which  number  additions  are  made  almost  daily.  Of  very  many 
genera  all  the  species  known  are  exhibited ;  but,  until  the  classi- 
fication and  catalogue  are  completed,  the  precise  number  of 
species  cannot  be  readily  ascertained. 

Mr.  John  Cassin  is  constantly  employe4  in  arranging  this  truly 
magnificent  collection.  He  is  preparing  an  exact  catalogue  of 
all  the  species,  not  simply  by  making  a  list  of  names  attached  to 
them,  but  by  careful  study  and  comparison,  ascertaining  precisely 
the  species  of  every  individual  specimen,  without  relying  upon 
the  label  attached  to  it  in  any  case.  The  labor  involved  in  this 
work  cannot  be  duly  appreciated  except  by  those  who  have  been 
occupied  in  a  similar  task.  Catalogues  of  three  families  of  birds 
thus  scrutiniziugly  prepared,  in  which  the  synonymes  of  each 
species  are  given  with  the  authorities  for  them,  have  been  pub- 
lished with  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Academy;"  and  similar 
catalogues  of  other  families  are  nearly  ready  for  the  press.  From 
the  printed  catalogues,  the  following  summary  is  deduced,  which 


22  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

may  be  regarded  as  a  fair  representation  of  the  extent  of  the 

collection. 

Genera.          Species.      Specimens. 

VULTURID^  (Vultures)  8  16  68 

STRIGIDJE  (Owls)  13  92  374 

CAPRIMULGHLE  (Goatsuckers)  17  73  261 

All  the  species  of  vultures  hitherto  described  are  in  the  cabi- 
net. The .  completeness  of  this  family  is  remarkable,  for  the 
reason  that  rapacious  birds  are  captured  with  more  difficulty  than 
those  of  other  tribes. 

As  may  be  easily  conjectured,  this  cabinet  is  of  very  great 
value  to  the  student  of  ornithology.  In  many  instances  nume- 
rous specimens  are  exhibited,  to  show  the  differences  which  arise 
in  the  same  species,  from  difference  of  sex,  of  age,  and  period 
of  plumage.  Very  many  species  are  represented  by  the  speci- 
mens, some  of  which  are  unique,  originally  described,  and  made 
known  by  distinguished  ornithologists  ;  and  thus,  the  collection 
affords  facilities  for  comparison,  and  verification  of  special  in- 
quiries, which  no  other  possesses  to  an  equal  extent.  In  many 
instances  the  common  English  name  is  added  to  the  label ;  but 
in  very  many  cases  birds  have  been  named  for  the  first  time,  and 
introduced  to  notice  by  naturalists,  and,  therefore,  possess  no  other 
than  the  classic  or  systematic  appellation  originally  given  to 
them. 

Oology. — In  connection  with  the  ornithological  cabinet  is  a 
collection  of  birds'  eggs  and  nests,  exhibited  in  the  shallow  cases, 
which  are  suspended  on  the  railing  of  the  lowest  or  flying  gal- 
lery of  the  principal  hail. 

Dr.  S.  W.  Woodhouse,  Dr.  A.  L.  Heerman,  Dr.  Geo.  C.  Leib, 
Mr.  Samuel  Ashmead,  and  Professor  S.  F.  Baird,  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  have  contributed  largely  to  the  cabinet  of 
birds'  eggs  and  nests.  In  September,  1850,  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson 
presented  an  extensive  collection  made  in  Paris,  by  M.  0.  Des 
Murs,  at  considerable  cost,  through  a  very  long  period  of  time. 
It  contains  3,449  specimens,  of  1,281  species  and  10  nests.  The 
S£me  gentleman  presented  Mr.  Gould's  collection  of  eggs  of 
Australian  birds ;  it  comprises  976  specimens  of  303  species,  and 
33  nests.  The  aggregate  number  of  specimens  of  these  two  col- 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  23 

lections  is  4,425 ;  and  of  species,  deducting  duplicates,  1,526,  of 
which  number  1,278  are  determined. 

The  total  number  of  birds'  nests  in  the  Academy  is  214 ;  the 
number  of  specimens  of  birds'  eggs  5,056,  of  which  1,368  species 
are  determined. 

The  cases  contain  at  this  time  4,450  specimens. 

This  collection  of  birds'  eggs  is  not  equalled  by  any  one  in 
Europe. 

3.  ICHTHYOLOGY. 

The  collection  of  fishes  is  placed  in  the  east  basement-room. 

In  his  "Notice  of  the  Academy,"  in  1837,  Dr.  Morton  says: 
"  The  collection  of  fishes  is  as  yet  comparatively  inconsiderable. 
A  series  of  those  inhabiting  the  waters  of  Guiana  has  been  pre- 
sented by  Dr.  Hering.  Dr.  Burrough  has  deposited  an  inte- 
resting collection  from  some  of  the  remoter  provinces  of  India, 
and  the  American  species  have  of  late  received  considerable  ac- 
cessions." 

There  are  750  glass  jars  or  bottles,  each  containing  several 
fishes  in  alcohol ;  and  372  dry  preparations,  of  which  170  are 
the  original  specimens  described  by  C.  L.  Bonaparte,  in  his 
"Fauna  Italica,"  and  presented  by  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson.  The  num- 
ber of  species  has  not  yet  been  ascertained.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  aggregate  number  of  specimens  is  at  least  1,500,  of  about 
700  species. 

This  department  has  received  donations  from  Dr.  J.  Carson, 
Messrs.  W.  B.  Maul,  Philip  Lowry,  and  others. 

4.  HERPETOLOGY. 

The  collection  of  reptiles  is  placed  on  the  galleries  of  the  east 
and  north-east  basement-rooms. 

From  Dr.  Morton's  "Notice,"  in  1837,  we  learn  that  this  de- 
partment is  especially  indebted  to  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Harlan, 
Dr.  Burrough,  Dr.  Blanding,  and  Dr.  Hering.  During  the  year 
1830,  the  latter  gentleman  presented  upwards  of  200  species  of 
the  serpents,  and  other  reptiles  of  the  north-eastern  regions  of 
South  America. 

Professor  Holbrook  has  presented  the  specimens  originally  de- 


24  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

scribed  in  his  work  on  "American  Herpetology ;"  and  donations 
have  been  received,  at  different  times,  from  Mr.  James  Read,  Mr. 
W.  S.  Vaux,  Mr.  Isaac  G.  Strain,  U.  S.  Navy,  Mr.  B.  M.  Nor- 
man, Dr.  Goheen,  Dr.  C.  W.  Pennock,  Dr.  Goddard,  Dr.  Rey- 
nell  Coates,  Mr.  J.  H.  Couper,  Dr.  G.  Watson,  Dr.  Hallowell, 
Mr.  W.  L.  Bispham,  Mr.  Saml.  Ashmead,  Mr.  Ed.  Donnelly,  Dr. 
Ruschenberger,  Mr.  W.  L.  Jones,  of  Georgia,  and  others.  In 
January,  1851,  Professor  Franklin  Bache  presented  the  collec- 
tion of  reptiles  made  by  the  late  Dr.  Jacob  Green. 

There  are  in  this  department  of  the  museum  1,056  glass  jars, 
or  bottles,  containing  species  in  alcohol,  and  159  dry  prepara- 
tions. The  number  of  specimens  is  estimated  at  2,000 ;  but  the 
number  of  species  has  not  been  ascertained.*  There  is  also  a 
small  collection  of  eggs  of  reptiles. 

This  cabinet,  it  is  believed,  will  compare  favorably  with  any 
in  the  United  States,  and  is  not  surpassed  by  many  in  Europe. 

5.    C02JCHOLOGY. 

The  collection  of  shells  and  mollusks  is  placed  in  the  east  base- 
ment-room. 

According  to  an  estimate  made  in  1837,  this  department  con- 
tained 2,000  species.  "  The  Academy  is  under  particular  obli- 
gations to  Dr.  Burrough,  Dr.  Ruschenberger,  Captain  Land,  Mr. 
Poulson,  Mr.  J.  K.  Townsend,  Mr.  Nut-tall,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
T.  Say,  for  their  contributions  to  the  series  of  marine  shells. 
An  interesting  part  of  the  collection  is  formed  by  the  fresh-water 
and  land  shells,  collected  and  presented  by  Col.  Long,  Dr.  Bur- 
rough,  Mr.  Conrad,  Mr.  Lea,  Mr.  Hyde,  Mr.  J.  M.  Earle,  Mr. 
J.  Ronaldson,  Dr.  Hildreth,  and  Dr.  Pennock."f 

Since  the  publication  of  the  above  statement,  the  collection  of 
shells  has  been  very  much  augmented. 

In  the  year  1849,  Dr.  R.  E.  Griffith  presented  more  than 
12,000  specimens,  of  4,907  species  of  shells,  which  he  had  col- 
lected, during  a  long  series  of  years,  at  very  considerable  cost 

*  In  December,  1848,  the  number  of  species  was,  batrachia,  120; 
eauria,  150  ;  ophidia,  242 ;  chelonia?  (not  stated.) 

f  Notice  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences.  By  Samuel  George 
Morton,  M.  D.  Fourth  edition,  1837. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  25 

and  labor.  In  the  same  year,  more  than  3,500  specimens,  of 
1,707  species,  were  added  by  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson.  Three  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  specimens  of  111  species  of  Australian,  New 
Zealand,  and  South  Sea  Island  shells  were  obtained,  in  ex- 
change, from  the  "Australian  Museum;"  and  204  specimens  of 
105  species  were  received  from  Mr.  McAndrew,  of  England,  Dr. 
Gould,  of  Boston,  Mr.  Thompson,  of  Belfast,  Ireland,  Mr.  Wat- 
son, of  South  Africa,  and  from  other  sources. 

In  the  year  1850,  107  species  from  various  localities  were 
presented,  principally  by  Mr.  Ed.  Verreaux,  of  Paris,  Dr.  Mc- 
Cartee,  of  China,  and  Messrs.  E.  T.  and  Chas.  W.  Wilson. 

This  collection  contains  about  25,000  specimens  of  about  8,000 
species ;  besides  48  species  of  cephalopods  and  other  mollusks,  and 
7  species  of  ascidiae,  in  alcohol. 

Dr.  Griffith  was  engaged  in  arranging  this  collection  at  the 
time  of  his  death. 


6.  ENTOMOLOGY. 

The  collection  of  insects  is  placed  in  a  small  room  at  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  principal  saloon. 

This  department  has  received  large  contributions  from  Dr. 
Hering,  Mr.  T.  E.  Peale,  and  the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Say,  who 
verbally  bequeathed  his  entire  collection  to  the  Academy  in  the 
year  1834. 

In  the  year  1837,  the  fine  cabinet  of  coleopterous  insects  pre- 
sented by  Dr.  McMurtrie  and  Dr.  Pickering,  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  an  experienced  entomologist  at  a  distance,  to  be  re- 
arranged and  intercalated  with  the  remaining  specimens  of  Mr. 
Say's  cabinet,  which  had  been  previously  confided  to  the  care  of 
the  same  gentleman.  After  five  years,  the  collections  were 
returned  to  the  Academy,  in  March,  1842,  but,  unfortunately,  in 
such  a  state  of  ruin  and  dilapidation  as  to  be  almost  useless. 

The  destruction  of  the  once  fine  collection  of  coleoptera  and 
lepidoptera,  discouraged  for  a  time  those  members  who  were  par- 
ticularly interested  in  the  study  of  entomology ;  but  in  the  year 
1843,  a  new  method  of  preserving  these  animals  was  devised, 
which,  it  is  believed,  has  proved  to  be  entirely  successful ;  and 
not  long  after  this  date,  a  spirit  of  increased  activity  and  energy 
was  infused  into  the  Institution,  by  rich  contributions  made  to 


26  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

other  departments.  The  entomologists  of  the  Academy  were 
roused  to  renewed  exertion ;  and  the  present  collection  of  insects, 
it  is  confidently  hoped,  although  it  was  commenced,  it  may  be 
said,  not  more  than  five  years  since,  will  very  soon  surpass  that 
which  was  lost. 

The  insects  are  arranged  in  boxes,  made  to  resemble  folio 
volumes,  about  two  and  a  half  inches  thick ;  two  sides  of  the 
boxes  are  glass,  protected  on  the  outside  by  movable  covers,  like 
those  of  a  book.  A  label  on  the  back  of  each  designates  the 
class  to  which  its  contents  belong ;  and  a  catalogue  or  index  is 
written  on  the  inside  of  the  left-hand  cover.  The  series  on  the 
shelves  of  the  cases  might  be  mistaken  for  a  work  on  entomology 
in  many  volumes.  The  insects  are  secured  in  such  a  manner 
that  both  their  upper  and  under  surfaces  may  be  readily  examined 
without  exposing  them  to  dust  or  air.  Before  they  are  fixed  in 
the  boxes,  they  are  exposed  to  a  high  temperature  in  an  oven 
contrived  for  the  purpose,  in  order  to  destroy  the  vitality  of 
those  eggs  or  larvae  they  may  contain,  which  have  always  been 
more  or  less  destructive  to  such  collections.  After  the  specimens 
are  arranged,  all  the  joints  of  the  boxes  are  thoroughly  closed 
with  poisoned  paste,  which  secures  them  from  the  invasion  of 
ravaging  marauders. 

By  this  plan,  the  collection  is  kept  in  a  perfect  state  of  pre- 
servation, and  is  entirely  available  for  study. 

The  principal  contributors  to  the  entomological  cabinet  in  the 
past  few  years,  are  Mr.  Robert  Kilvington,  Henry  Bond  Dewey, 
Esq.,  Dr.  D.  B.  McCartee,  Mr.  Wm.  Hobson,  Mr.  Edward 
Doubleday,  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  Rev.  T.  S.  Savage,  M.  D.,  Mr. 
Hagedorn,  Dr.  Gavin  Watson,  Dr.  A.  L.  Heerman,  Dr.  Gambel, 
Mr.  Cassin,  Dr.  John  Neill,  Mr.  Geo.  B.  Wood,  Jr.,  Mr.  Isaac 
Lea,  and  others.  The  donations  made  are  all  recorded  in  the 
published  volumes  of  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Academy." 

Of  about  6,000  specimens  now  in  the  cabinet,  1,500  lepidoptera 
and  2,500  coleoptera  are  classed  and  labelled ;  but  the  classifica- 
tion is  not  yet  sufficiently  advanced  to  estimate,  with  any  degree 
of  accuracy,  the  number  of  species  it  contains,  belonging  to  the 
several  families. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  27 


7.  MYRIAPODS  AND  ARACHNIDANS. 

The  collection  of  centipedes,  millipedes,  and  spiders,  is  placed 
in  the  east  basement-room. 

It  contains  27  species  of  myriapods,  and  34  species  of  arach- 
nidans,  in  alcohol,  besides  9  dry  specimens. 

This  department  is  indebted  for  contributions  to  Dr.  Goheen, 
Mr.  Cassin,  Dr.  Leidy,  and  Dr.  Goddard. 

8.  CRUSTACEANS. 

The  crabs  are  placed  in  the  east  basement-room. 

According  to  the  catalogue  of  Professor  Lewis  R.  Gibbes,  of 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  published  in  vol.  5,  p.  22  (March,  1850),  of  the 
"Proceedings  of  the  Academy,"  the  collection  contained  175 
species  of  68  genera.  But  during  the  past  year  additions  have 
been  made  by  Mr.  McAndrew  and  Messrs.  E.  and  C.  Wilson ; 
and  in  February,  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson  presented  614  specimens  of 
230  species,  which  were  part  of  the  collection  of  M.  Guerin 
Meneville,  of  Paris ;  and  in  December,  1851,  another  portion  of 
the  collection,  consisting  of  868  specimens,  belonging  to  183 
species  of  53  genera. 

At  this  time,  the  Museum  contains  2,054  specimens  of  980 
species  of  crustaceans,  of  which  46  are  in  duplicate.  They  have 
been  classed,  and  a  catalogue  of  them  has  been  completed  by 
Dr.  R.  Bridges.  In  addition  to  those  referred  to,  there  is  a  very 
large  number  of  specimens  in  store  for  exchange. 

Of  cirrhopeds  (barnacles,  of  various  kinds)  there  are  103  dry 
specimens,  and  10  jars  with  specimens  in  alcohol,  including  86 
species.  The  principal  donors  to  this  department  are  Dr.  C. 
Nicholson,  Dr.  R.  E.  Griffith,  Dr.  Ruschenberger,  Dr.  T.  B. 
Wilson,  Dr.  Leidy,  and  Mr.  Nuttall. 

9.  ANNELIDANS. 

The  collection  of  worms,  which  contains  77  species  of  hel- 
minths in  alcohol,  and  3  dry  preparations,  is  placed  in  the  east 
basement-room.  Many  of  these  were  formerly  in  the  cabinet  of 
Prof.  C.  S.  Rafinesque.  The  principal  donors  are  Dr.  Goheen, 
Dr.  Goddard,  Dr.  Leidy,  and  Mr.  Cassin. 


28  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

In  February,  1843,  Mr.  William  G.  Burke  presented,  through 
Mr.  Cassin,  a  collection  of  parasitic  worms,  contained  in  76 
phials. 

10.  ZOOPHYTES. 

The  collection  of  echinoderms  (star  fishes  and  sea  eggs)  con- 
sists of  447  dry  specimens,  and  6  in  alcohol.  Many  of  them 
were  presented  by  Mr.  Edward  Wilson,  during  the  year  1851. 
The  number  of  species  has  not  been  ascertained.  Mr.  S.  TV. 
Drinker,  Mr.  W.  Thompson,  Messrs.  Warnick  and  Argent,  and 
Dr.  Griffith,  are  among  the  donors. 

Under  this  head  are  placed  9  species  of  medusse  in  alcohol ; 
206  specimens  of  corallines ;  and  83  specimens  of  sponges ;  all  of 
which  are  placed  in  the  east  basement-room. 

The  principal  donors  to  this  department  are  Mr.  G.  Ord,  Mr. 
Maclure,  Mr.  Say,  Mr.  T.  R.  Peale,  Dr.  Harlan,  Mr.  Hazard, 
Mr.  Lewis  Vanuxem,  Dr.  Nicholson,  and  Dr.  Anderson. 

11.  BOTANY. 

The  collection  of  plants  is  placed  in  cases  on  the  north  flying 
gallery,  and  in  a  small  room,  accessible  from  it,  situated  at  the 
north-east  corner  of  the  principal  hall.  In  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
Darlington,  this  herbarium  is  "  one  of  the  richest  and  most  valua- 
ble in  the  United  States."* 

This  collection,  which  now  contains  46,000  species  of  plants, 
had  its  beginning  in  a  small  herbarium  formed  in  the  environs  of 
Paris,  and  presented  in  April,  1812,  by  Mr.  N.  S.  Parmantier, 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Institution. 

This  cabinet  is  indebted  principally  to  Rev.  Mr.  Schweinitz, 
and  Mr.  Nuttall,  as  well  as  to  Mr.  "VYm.  Maclure,  Mr.  Z.  Collins, 
Dr.  R.  E.  Griffith,  Dr.  Pickering,  Mr.  James  Read,  Mr.  Durand, 
Mr.  Jos.  P.  Smith,  Mr.  S.  TV.  Conrad,  Dr.  Carson,  Dr.  Bridges, 
Dr.  Goddard,  Dr.  Zantzinger,  Professor  C.  W.  Short,  Dr.  Peter, 
Mrs.  L.  TV.  Say,  Mr.  Terry,  Mr.  J.  L.  Darlington,  of  Michigan; 
Mr.  J.  M.  Greene,  Professor  C.  Dewey,  Mr.  H.  B.  Croom,  Mr. 
TYm.  Cooper,  Mr.  Hembel,  Mr.  Sullivan,  and  Mr.  Gray. 

*  Memoir  of  Wm.  Bartram  and  Humphrey  Marshall. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  29 

Schweinitz  Collection. — The  Rev.  Lewis  David  Von  Schweinitz, 
who  died  in  the  year  1834,  bequeathed  to  the  Academy  his  great 
collection,  made  during  a  period  of  forty  years.  This  herbarium 
contained,  besides  the  cryptogamous  plants,  23,000  species. 

Most  of  the  American  species  were  collected  by  himself;  but 
many  were  supplied  by  Dr.  Torrey,  Mr.  Leconte,  Rev.  Mr. 
Dencke',  Mr.  J.  Elliot,  Mr.  H.  Steinhaur,  and  other  correspond- 
ents. The  European  species  were  supplied  by  Mr.  Van  Welden, 
Dr.  Hooker,  Mr.  Bentham,  Dr.  Schwaegrichen,  Dr.  Steudel,  Dr. 
Zeyher,  and  Mr.  Brongniart.  The  Siberian  plants  were  furnished 
by  Mr.  Ledebour,  and  those  of  India  by  Dr.  Wallich,  and  Mr. 
H.  Steinhaur.  The  Chinese  collection  was  made  by  Mr.  James 
Read.  The  plants  of  the  polar  region  were  collected  by  Captain 
Parry,  and  presented  by  Dr.  Hooker ;  an  interesting  collection 
from  Labrador,  was  added  by  Mr.  Kohlmeister,  a  Moravian  mis- 
sionary, of  that  country.  The  South  American  species  were 
obtained  chiefly  through  M.  Von  Martius,  Dr.  Huffel,  and  Dr. 
Hering.  Dr.  Baldwin  contributed  3,000  species  of  plants  col- 
lected by  himself  in  Buenos  Ayres,  Florida,  and  other  parts  of 
North  America. 

Nuttall  Collection. — Mr.  Nuttall,  an  ardent  and  distinguished 
botanist,  who  for  many  years  pursued  his  researches  in  various 
parts  of  the  United  States,  presented  3,000  species  of  North 
American  plants ;  at  a  later  period  his  entire  exotic  herbarium, 
embracing  among  others,  1,500  Cape  plants,  collected  by  Marson, 
a  large  number  of  New  Holland  plants,  and  many  interesting 
species  from  New  Zealand,  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  collected 
by  Foster,  Labillardier,  and  others.  Subsequently,  he  presented 
a  complete  suite  of  specimens  collected  by  him  in  his  arduous 
journey  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia River,  different  parts  of  California,  and  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Besides  these  donations  from  Messrs  Schweinitz  and  Nuttall, 
1,200  species  collected  in  St.  Domingo,  by  M.  Poiteau,  of  Paris, 
were  presented  by  Mr.  Isaac  R.  Jackson. 

Mr.  Wm.  Hembel  presented  the  entire  herbarium  of  Mr.  Solo- 
mon W.  Conrad,  collected  chiefly  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jer- 
sey ;  and  subsequently,  that  portion  of  the  herbarium  of  the  late 
Prof.  C.  S.  Rafinesque,  containing  the  specimens  from  which  the 
descriptions  in  his  Medical  Flora  have  been  made ;  together  with 
other  valuable  European  and  Oriental  plants. 


30  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

Dr.  James  Trudeau  presented  the  entire  herbarium  of  Mr. 
Tainturier,  collected  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Orleans. 

A  suite  of  plants  of  Texas,  collected  by  Mr.  Drummond,  was 
presented  by  Drs.  Torrey  and  Darlington. 

A  suite  of  plants  of  Arkansas,  collected  and  presented  by  Dr. 
Z.  Pitcher,  U.  S.  Army. 

A  suite  of  Indian  Grasses,  collected  by  Messrs.  Wright  and  Ar- 
nott,  presented  by  Dr.  Torrey. 

Mr.  James  Bead  presented  400  species,  collected  by  himself 
in  the  Islands  of  St.  Croix,  St.  Thomas,  Porto  Rico,  and  Guada- 
loupe,  in  the  winter  of  1837. 

Dr.  Pickering  presented  the  herbarium  of  Dr.  H.  Little,  of 
Boston,  collected  by  himself  in  the  vicinity  of  that  city,  and  in 
New  Hampshire. 

Mr*  E.  Durand  selected  from  his  extensive  herbarium  925 
species  which  were  not  in  the  Academy's  collection,  and  presented 
them. 

Dr.  John  Styles,  formerly  of  Valparaiso,  but  now  of  Cuba, 
presented  400  species  of  plants  collected  by  himself  in  Chile. 

Don  Ramon  de  la  Sagra,  and  M.  G.  Lob^  presented  a  series  of 
plants  of  Cuba. 

Menke  Collection. — Through  Dr.  E.  F.  Rivinus,  the  extensive 
herbarium  of  Dr.  F.  Menke*,  of  Pyrmont,  Germany,  was  presented 
by  him  to  the  Academy  in  the  year  1839.  It  is  contained  in  37 
folio  volumes,  and  comprises  more  than  7,000  species  of  1,298 
genera,  which  were  collected  between  the  years  1810  and  1815, 
in  German  localities.  Among  the  distinguished  botanists  who 
contributed  to  the  formation  of  this  herbarium,  are  named  Thun- 
berg,  Sprengel,  Bernhardi,  Professor  Treviranus,  Professor  Mer- 
tens,  Roemer,  Goenhat,  Lehman,  Salzman,  Rohde,  Wendland, 
Schroeder,  Ehrenberg,  Schmidt,  &c.  As  nearly  all  the  species 
in  this  herbarium  are  duplicates  of  those  possessed  by  the  Acade- 
my, and  as  very  many  of  them  are  from  cultivated  specimens,  it 
is  kept  distinct. 

In  1842,  Mr.  P.  A  Browne  presented  300  species  of  West  In- 
dian plants ;  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Durbin,  200  Alpine  plants,  from  the 
Valley  of  Chamouni ;  Mr.  R.  C.  Taylor  between  80  and  90  species 
of  West  Indian  and  American  plants ;  and  Mr.  J.  Frampton  Wat- 
son 64  species  from  the  Andes. 

In  1843,  Mr.  J.  N.  Nicollet  presented  335  species  from  the 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  31 

North-Western  Territory;  and  Mrs.  Wm.  S.  Biddle,  a  collection 
from  Barbadoes. 

In  1844,  Mr.  Jacob  Snyder,  Jr.  presented  300  specimens  of 
Alpine  plants ;  and  a  donation  of  47  species,  collected  in  Missouri, 
was  received  from  Dr.  Engelman. 

In  1845,  Mrs.  Rachel  Blanding  presented  a  collection  of  plants; 
and  in  1846,  Dr.  Engelman  presented  100  species  collected  in 
Texas. 

In  the  years  1847,  1848,  and  1849,  several  donations  were  re- 
ceived, and  Mr.  R.  C.  Taylor  presented  a  collection  of  ferns  from 
New  Granada. 

In  1850,  Mr.  Henry  Etting,  U.  S.  Navy,  presented  a  collection 
of  plants  from  the  Grand  Canary,  and  the  adjoining  islands ;  Mr. 
R.  W.  Ravenel,  of  S.  C.,  131  species,  chiefly  cryptogamous ;  and 
the  Royal  Society  of  Van  Diemen's  Land,  150  plants  indigenous 
to  New  South  Wales. 

In  1851,  donations  were  received  from  Mr.  John  Hooper,  of 
New  York,  and  from  Dr.  Hopkinson,  U.  S.  Navy. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Mencke"  collection,  all  the  donations 
have  been  incorporated  into  the  herbarium  of  the  Academy,  which 
is  arranged  according  to  the  natural  system  of  Jussieu.  This  work 
has  been  accomplished  at  different  periods  by  the  labors  of  -Mr. 
Nuttall,  Dr.  C.  Pickering,  Dr.  Carson,  Dr.  Goddard,  Dr.  Bridges, 
and  Dr.  Zantzinger. 

Besides  the  plants,  this  department  comprises  about  1,000  spe- 
cimens of  fruits,  and  seed-vessels ;  and  a  collection  of  samples  of 
different  kinds  of  woods. 

ETHNOLOGY. 

In  the  department  of  ethnography  the  property  of  the  Acade- 
my is  not  very  extensive ;  but  if  the  collections  which  are  on 
deposit  be  included  in  the  account,  it  is  large  and  valuable. 

In  the  cases  on  the  south  flying-gallery  there  are  968  human 
crania,  including  26  casts  of  crania,  of  which  50  belong  to  the 
Academy.  The  rest,  918,  constitute  the  collection  deposited  by 
the  late  Dr.  Morton.  Of  the  whole  number,  690  were  presented 
to  him  by  138  donors,  a  fact  which  shows  the  number  of  friends 
Dr.  Morton  interested  actively  in  his  favorite  branch  of  natural 
science.  This  collection  is  one  among  the  striking  monuments  of 


32  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

his  industry,  and  of  the  kindness  of  his  numerous  friends  in  every 
quarter  of  the  globe.  It  was  commenced  in  1830,  when  Dr.  Mor- 
ton sought  in  vain  to  procure,  in  Philadelphia,  a  Malay  or  Mon- 
golian skull. 

The  collection  now  contains  crania  illustrative  of  22  varieties 
of  the  Caucasian  race;  two  varieties  of  the  Mongolian  race;  13 
of  the  Malay  race ;  69  of  the  aboriginal  American  race ;  21  of 
the  negro  race ;  8  of  the  mixed  races ;  besides  skulls  of  lunatics, 
and  idiots  of  several  races.  For  a  more  detailed  account  of  this 
collection,  I  beg  leave  to  refer  to  Dr.  Morton's  catalogue,  printed 
November,  1849.*  Since  the  publication  of  this  catalogue,  51 
human  crania  have  been  added  to  Dr.  Morton's  cabinet ;  of  these 
24  were  presented  by  Prof.  Retzius ;  3  by  Dr.  Joseph  Hopkinson, 
U.  S.  Navy ;  2  by  Mr.  Amory  Edwards ;  1  by  Mr.  Gliddon ;  1 
by  Dr.  Kennedy ;  1  by  Lieut.  Steele,  U.  S.  Navy ;  and  1  by  Mr. 
W.  A.  Gliddon. 

*  Catalogue  of  skulls  of  man  and  the  inferior  animals  in  the  collection 
of  Samuel  George  Morton,  M.  D.,  &c.  &c.,  Philadelphia,  1849. 

The  principal  donors  named  in  the  catalogue  are  Wm.  A.  Foster,  Esq., 
who  contributed  135  ;  Dr.  J.  K.  Cisneros  presented  53  ;  Dr.  Ruschenberger, 
39 ;  Win.  A.  Gliddon,  Esq.,  19  ;  Professor  Retzius,  17 ;  M.  Clot  Bey,  15  ;  Dr. 
C.  Hnffnagle,  13;' J.  N.  Nicollet,  Esq.,  and  Dr.  Dornick,  12  each ;  Dr.  Jones, 
Dr.  Burrough,  and  Dr.  S.  M.  E.  Goheen,  11  each;  J.  J.  Audubon,  Esq., 
10;  Dr.  J.  K.  Townsend,  Dr.  B.  B.  Brown,  Dr.  E.  A.  Abadie,  U.  S.  Army, 
and  Dr.  Mead,  each  9  ;  G.  R.  Gliddon,  Esq.,  Dr.  Usher  Parsons,  and  Dr.  S. 
P.  Hildreth,  each  8  ;  Dr.  Joseph  Smith,  Don  J.  Gomez  de  la  Cortina,  and  Dr. 
H.  S.  Reynolds,  U.  S.  Navy,  each  7 ;  J.  A.  Lapham,  Esq.,  A.  C.  Harris,  Esq., 
Dr.  S.  J.  Oakford,  and  Dr.  Joseph  Walker,  U.  S.  Army,  each  6  ;  Dr.  Joseph 
Carson,  Dr.  James  Mease,  H.  Piddington,  Esq.,  Dr.  Charles  Nicholson,  Dr. 
M'Dowel,  Dr.  J.N.  Casanova,  Dr.  Jos.  Wilson,  U.S.  Navy,  Dr.  Edwin  Fiessell, 
Dr.  Geo.  Engleman,  and  Mr.  John  Watson,  each  5  ;  Dr.  Z.  Pitcher,  U.  S. 
Army,  Dr.  C.  Pickering,  Dr.  Geo.  C.  Leib,  and  Dr.  R.  S.  Holmes,  U.  S.  Army, 
4  each  ;  Dr.  P.  B.  Goddard,  Dr.  J.  W.  Russell,  Dr.  Hardy,  Dr.  E.  H.  Davis, 
with  Mr.  Squier,  Mr.  I.  G.  Strain,  U.  S.  Navy,  Lieut.  Meigs,  U.  S.  Army ; 
Dr.  P.  Gregg,  Ex-President  Vargas,  and  Mr.  0.  S.  Fowler,  each  3 ;  Dr.  J 
K.  Mitchell,  Wm.  Cobb  Hurry,  Esq.,  Dr.  Le  Beau,  Dr.  Waters  Smith,  U.  S. 
Navy ;  Dr.  F.  Turnpenny,  Dr.  Paul  Swift,  Dr.  John  Houstoun,  M.  Fresnel, 
Dr.  A.  Wi.sli/.euus,  J>r.  Wm.  M.  Wood,  U.  S.  Navy,  Capt.  Fremont,  Dr.  Lip- 
pincott,  Dr.  J.  Macartney,  Dr.  Thus.  Page,  Dr.  J.  Andrews,  l>r.  Martin, 
U.  S.  Army,  and  CoL^J^J.  Abert,  U.  S.  Army,  each  2.  There  are  also  named 
67  gentlemen  who  each  contributed  one  cranium  to  this  truly  valuable  col- 
lection, which  has  been  formed  at  the  price  of  twenty  years'  persistent 
labor,  and  an  expenditure  of  considerable  money ;  for  even  donations  were 
seldom  free  of  charges  for  freight,  &c.  &c. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  33 

In  a  closet,  opening  on  the  passage  to  the  stairs,  at  the  south- 
east extremity  of  the  principal  hall,  are  four  human  mummies, 
1  Egyptian  and  3  Peruvian ;  1  mummied  calf,  2  hawks,  6  ibis, 
and  32  serpents,  all  Egyptian. 

The  Egyptian  mummy,  which  is  inclosed  in  its  original  sar- 
cophagus, is  from  the  catacombs  of  Thebes.  It  was  deposited 
by  John  L.  Hodge,  Esq.,  in  June,  1846.  The  other  mummied 
objects,  from  Egypt,  were  deposited  by  George  R.  Gliddon,  Esq., 
in  June,  1848. 

The  Peruvian  mummies  were  deposited  by  Dr.  Morton.  They 
were  procured  from  an  ancient  cemetery  near  Arica,  and  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Wm.  A.  Foster,  who  states  that,  "  In  many  of  the 
tombs,  three  or  four  bodies  were  found  clustered  together,  always 
in  the  sitting  posture,  and  wrapped  in  three  or  four  thicknesses 
of  cloth,  with  a  mat  thrown  over  all." 

/ 
13.  COMPARATIVE  ANATOMY. 

The  most  prominent  object  of  the  department  of  comparative 
anatomy,  in  1837,  was  a  "perfect  skeleton  of  the  Indian  rhino- 
ceros (R.  indicus),  brought  from  the  interior  of  Hindostan,  by 
Dr.  Burrough,  and  presented  to  the  Academy,"  by  a  club  of 
members.  At  that  date,  the  aggregate  number  of  crania  of 
vertebrate  animals,  including  about  200  human  skulls,  in  Dr. 
Morton's  collection,  was  not  many  above  500.* 

Since  that  date  large  additions  have  been  made  to  this  depart- 
ment of  the  Museum.  Besides  the  918  human  crania  above 
mentioned,  the  collection  deposited  by  Dr.  Morton  now  contains 
278  crania  of  mammals,  271  crania  of  birds,  and  88  crania  of 
reptiles  and  fishes,  or  an  aggregate  of  1,555  skulls  of  vertebrate 
animals. 

The  Academy's  collection  has  received  contributions  from  Dr. 
Blanding,  Dr.  Godon,  Dr.  Goheen,  Prof.  Baird,  Dr.  Watson, 
Captain  S.  Drinker,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Hamilton,  Dr.  Leidy,  Mr. 
S.  W.  Woodhouse,  Dr.  Griffith,  Dr.  Meigs,  Dr.  Hallowell,  Mr. 
Ashmead,  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  Dr.  P.  B.  Goddard,  and  others. 

In  the  year  1849,  Dr.  Goddard  presented  106  crania  of  mam- 

*  Morton,  Notice  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences.    4th  edition,  p. 
17,  1837. 
3 


34  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

mals,  30  of  birds,  4  of  reptiles,  3  of  fishes,  8  skeletons  of  mam- 
mals, 6  of  birds,  2  of  reptiles,  besides  21  pieces  of  comparative 
anatomy.  And  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson  added  22  skeletons  of  birds, 
and  5  pieces  of  comparative  anatomy. 

®uring  the  year  1850,  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson  presented  artiqulated 
skeletons  of  165  species  of  birds,  52  sterna,  10  crania,  and  3 
other  pieces  of  birds.  M.  De  la  Berge  presented  53  sterna  of 
birds ;  and  16  skeletons  of  birds  were  received  from  Mr.  Goadby ; 
5  skeletons,  3  crania,  and  3  sterna  of  birds,  were  presented  by 
MM.  Verreaux  and  Lambert,  and  Dr.  Blanding ;  and  a  donation 
of  2  skeletons  and  3  crania  of  mammals  was  received  from  Drs. 
Blanding  and  Johnson,  and  Mr.  Schaf  hirt. 

The  Academy  possesses  20  skeletons  of  mammals,  213  of 
birds,  18  of  reptiles,  and  12  of  fishes,  or  an  aggregate  of  263 
articulated  skeletons;  171  crania  of  mammals,  477  crania  of 
birds,  49  crania  of  reptiles  and  fishes,  100  sterna  of  birds,  and 
23  pieces  of  comparative  anatomy. 

Including  those  on  deposit,  the  collection  consists,  indepen- 
dently of  the  skeletons  and  pieces  of  comparative  anatomy,  of 
449  crania  of  mammals,  748  crania  of  birds,  98  crania  of  reptiles, 
and  39  crania  of  fishes. 

The  collections  in  comparative  anatomy  are  displayed  in  cases 
on  the  floor  of  the  south  side  of  the  main  hall. 

Among  the  recent  additions  is  a  fine  skeleton  of  a  narwhal,  the 
tusk  of  which  exceeds  eight  feet  in  length,  presented  by  Dr.  E. 
K.  Kane,  U.  S.  Navy. 

14.  MINERALOGY. 

The  collection  of  minerals  is  arranged  in  the  east  basement- 
room. 

As  early  as  March,  1812,  Mr.  John  Speakman,  in  anticipation 
of  the  wants  of  the  Institution,  purchased  from  Dr.  Seybert,  for 
the  sum  of  $750,  a  collection  of  European  minerals ;  but  this 
acquisition  bears  a  later  date  on  the  records  of  the  Institution. 
In  July,  of  the  same  year,  $370  were  subscribed  by  members  to 
purchase  Mr.  Godon's  cabinet ;  but  at  the  auction,  Prof.  B.  S. 
Barton  bid  a  larger  sum  and  obtained  it.  The  late  Mr.  Joseph 
Watson  (of  the  firm  of  Watson  and  Bell)  purchased  the  same 
collection  at  Dr.  Barton's  sale  and  presented  it  to  the  Academy. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  35 

Among  the  first  donors  of  minerals  were  Dr.  Troost,  Mr.  Isaac 
Lea,  Dr.  Hays,  and  Mr.  S.  Hazard.  Mr.  Wm.  Maclure  pre- 
sented large  and  valuable  collections ;  and  Mr.  H.  Seybert, 
Joseph  P.  Smith,  and  Dr.  Thomas  M'Euen,  contributed  largely 
to  this  department.  The  contributors  to  the  mineralogical  cabi- 
net since  its  commencement  have  been  very  numerous.  Besides 
those  named,  the  most  conspicuous  are  Mr.  J.  P.  Wetherill,  Dr. 
Burrough,  T.  Nuttall,  Dr.  Blanding,  Dr.  Morton,  Dr.  Griffith, 
Mr.  R.  C.  Taylor,  Baron  Struve,  Dr.  Carson,  Mr.  W.  S.  Vaux, 
Mr.  S.  Ashmead,  Mr.  T.  F.  Moss,  Mr.  Thomas  Fisher,  Dr.  Cas- 
sarnova,  Mr.  Isaac  L.  Chipman,  Dr.  Bent,  Dr.  Goddard,  and 
Dr.  George  B.  M'Clellan. 

Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  in  the  course  of  the  past  five  or  six  years, 
presented  1,760  specimens,  mostly  European,  many  of  which  are 
rare.  Amongst  them  are  fine  suites  of  carbonate  of  iron,  tin, 
blende,  galena,  &c.,  and  an  extensive  variety  of  forms  of  fluor 
and  calcareous  spars  from  Cumberland  and  Durham,  England ; 
and  many  fine  specimens  from  Germany,  Hungary,  and  Transyl- 
vania. Among  the  gems  is  a  fine  suite  of  native  crystals  of 
diamond  from  Brazil. 

Dr.  Heerman  has  presented  a  series  of  valuable  specimens  of 
native  gold  from  California;  and  we  are  indebted  to  the  late  Dr. 
George  B.  M'Clellan  for  fine  specimens  of  the  same  mineral  from 
Virginia. 

Mr.  W.  S.  Vaux  presented  an  extraordinarily  large  crystal  of 
beryl,  from  Ackworth,  New  Hampshire ;  it  measures  3  feet  3 
inches  in  circumference,  and  weighs  185  Ibs. 

Mr.  Boucier,  of  Lyons,  presented  an  admirable  series  of  crys- 
tals of  green  and  blue  carbonate  of  copper,  and  of  red  oxide  of 
copper,  of  every  variety  of  form. 

Though  the  cabinet  is  comparatively  rich  in  foreign,  it  is  very 
deficient  in  American  minerals.  From  the  vast  number  of  dona- 
tions 4,152  specimens  have  been  selected,  labelled,  and  arranged 
by  Messrs.  Vaux,  Ashmead,  and  Gambel,  who  have  been  for 
several  years  devoted  to  this  department  of  the  Museum. 

It  is  believed  that,  notwithstanding  the  care  of  the  various 
gentlemen  who  have  had  charge  of  this  department,  from  time  to 
time,  it  has  suffered  losses  in  the  various  transportations  and 
changes  of  location  to  which  the  Museum  has  been  subject. 


36  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 


15.  GEOLOGY. 

The  small  collection  of  rocks  is  in  the  east  basement-room. 
Mr.  Win.  Maclure  was  among  the  earliest  to  contribute  to  the  for- 
mation of  a  geological  cabinet.  He  presented  more  than  1100 
specimens  of  the  primitive  transition  and  basaltic  rocks  of 
Europe,  collected  by  himself  while  travelling  between  the  Medi- 
terranean and  Baltic  seas.  He  also  presented  specimens  of  the 
rocks  of  several  of  the  West  India  Islands. 

Dr.  R.  E.  Griffith  presented  a  series  of  lavas,  collected  from 
various  currents  ejected  from  Mount  Vesuvius  at  different 
periods. 

Dr.  S.  G.  Morton  presented  a  series  of  the  greenstone  rocks 
of  Scotland,  and  a  section  of  Salisbury  Craigs,  near  Edinburgh, 
collected  by  himself.  Rocks  from  the  northern  shore  of  Lake 
Superior  were  presented  by  Dr.  Z.  Pitcher,  U.  S.  Army.  Spe- 
cimens collected  from  the  route  of  the  Erie  and  Hudson  canal, 
were  received  from  the  Hon.  Stephen  Van  Rensalaer  of  New 
York.  To  Mr.  J.  Frampton  Watson,  to  Mr.  G.  R.  Gliddon,  to  Mr. 
J.  Hamilton  Couper,  and  to  many  others,  this  department  is  in- 
debted for  donations. 

The  number  of  specimens  in  the  cabinet  is  now  545. 

Among  these  is  a  slab  of  flexible  sandstone  from  Brazil,  pre- 
sented by  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  so  arranged  that  its  extraordinary 
flexibility  may  be  readily  shown. 

Mr.  Isaac  Lea  presented  a  column  of  basalt  from  the  Giant's 
Causeway,  Ireland,  which  is  worthy  of  notice  by  the  visiter. 

16.  PALEONTOLOGY. 

In  October,  1815,  Mr.  Jacob  Gilliams  presented  a  collection 
of  fossil  shells,  found  by  himself  in  St.  Mary's  County,  Maryland, 
where  he  had  gone  nearly  two  years  prior  to  that  date,  expecting  to 
join  the  military  forces  then  in  that  neighborhood.  This  is  the 
earliest  record  of  a  donation  to  the  department  of  palaeontology. 
In  November,  of  the  same  year,  a  collection  of  fossils,  from 
Sunbury,  Pennsylvania,  was  presented  by  Dr.  Janney.  In  the 
course  of  the  year  1816,  fossils  of  New  Jersey  and  of  Mary- 
land were  received  from  Mr.  S.  Wetherill  and  Dr.  Mease;  and  in 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  87 

1817,  fossils  from  Huntsville,  Alabama,  were  presented  by  Mr. 
J.  D.  Clifford,  and  a  considerable  collection  from  Europe,  by  Mr. 
Wm.  Maclure  ;  and  in  1818,  the  latter  gentlemen  made  import- 
ant donations.  During  the  same  year,  Dr*  R.  E.  Griffith,  and 
Mr.  A.  Jessup,  presented  collections  of  fossils. 

Subsequently,  a  series  of  vegetable  impressions  from  the  coal 
districts  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  Ohio,  and  Rhode  Island, 
was  presented  by  Drs.  Hays,  Griffith,  Morton,  and  Mr.  B.  Say. 

Mr.  Samuel  Hazard  presented  a  collection  of  pentremite, 
encrinite,  and  other  fossils  from  the  vicinity  of  Huntsville,  Ala- 
bama. 

A  series  of  fossil  shells,  illustrating  all  the  formations  of  the 
Paris  basin,  was  presented  by  Messrs.  Keating,  Vanuxem, 
M'Euen,  Lesueur,  and  Pennock. 

A  series  of  fossils  from  the  oolite  of  England,  was  presented 
by  Dr.  R.  E.  Griffith. 

Mr/  and  Mrs.  T.  Say,  presented  a  series  of  European  and 
American  fossils,  chiefly  from  the  eocene  strata. 

Dr.  S.  G.  Morton  presented  fossil  shells,  Crustacea,  and  zoo- 
phytes, illustrative  of  the  cretaceous  deposits  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  T.  A.  Conrad  presented  an  extensive  series  of  the  tertiary 
fossils  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  Alabama,  &c.,  chiefly  collected  by 
himself. 

Mr.  J.  Price  Wetherill  deposited  two  distinct  collections. 

The  Steinhaur  collection,  which  was  made  in  England  about 
forty  years  ago,  by  the  late  Rev.  Henry  Steinhaur,  is  particularly 
rich  in  fossil  plants,  from  the  coal  basin  of  Yorkshire,  and  in 
testacea  and  zoophytes  from  the  lias,  oolitic,  and  cretaceous 
formations  of  various  parts  of  Great  Britain. 

The  Clifford  collection  was  made  by  the  late  Mr.  Clifford,  of 
Cincinnati,  and  purchased  by  Mr.  Wetherill.  It  contains  an  ex- 
tensive and  beautiful  series  of  fossil  remains  from  the  carbonife- 
rous deposits  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi ;  together  with  the 
skeleton  of  the  Megalonyx  laqueatus  of  Dr.  Harlan,  and  nume- 
rous bones  and  teeth  of  the  mastodon,  elephant,  &c. 

In  1837,  the  collection  of  fossils  was  estimated  to  contain 
nearly  4,000  specimens,  including  those  on  deposit.  In  July, 
1846,  Mr.  Wetherill  presented  his  entire  collections,  which  had 
been  previously  deposited ;  and  at  the  same  time,  conjointly  with 

394812 


38  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  lie  made  a  donation  of  the  collection  deposited 
by  the  late  Mr.  R.  C.  Taylor,  in  August,  1845. 

The  Taylor  collection  was  designed  to  illustrate  the  principal 
English  formations.  The  specimens,  about  4,000  in  number, 
were  selected  by  Mr.  Taylor,  with  great  care,  from  their  re- 
spective localities,  during  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  com- 
mencing in  1805. 

In  1841,  additions  were  made  by  Dr.  Engelman,  Dr.  Morton, 
Mr.  Ashmead,  Prof.  Johnson,  and  others.  In  1842,  the  prin- 
cipal donations  were  received  from  Mr.  Joseph  Brano,  and  Mr. 
G.  R.  Gliddon ;  and  in  1843,  from  Dr.  John  Locke,  Mr.  J. 
Hamilton  Couper,  and  others. 

In  1845,  fossils  were  presented  by  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  Mr.  Ed- 
ward Harris,  Mr.  Julius  S.  Taylor,  Mr.  J.  Tremper,  Peter  A. 
Browne,  Esq.,  Prof.  R.  W.  Gibbes ;  a  collection  made  at  Cape 
La  Heve,  by  Mr.  Chas.  A.  Lesueur,  and  a  collection  made  on 
the  Sivalik  Hills,  by  Capt.  T.  B.  Cautley,  of  the  Bengal  army. 

In  1846,  besides  those  above  mentioned  from  Mr.  Wetherill  and 
Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  collections  were  presented  by  Mr.  Pancoast, 
and  Mr.  Lewis  Germain. 

In  1847,  Mr.  T.  Conrad  presented  about  2,000  specimens,  from 
the  miocene  of  France,  the  eocene,  cretaceous,  oolitic,  mountain 
limestone,  and  silurian  formations  of  England  and  France.  Mr. 
R.  C.  Taylor  presented  an  extensive  collection  of  very  large  and 
beautiful  specimens  of  the  coal  plants  of  Pennsylvania,  besides 
other  fossils.  Dr.  F.  Roemer  presented  fossils  from  the  green 
sand  of  Germany ;  and  Mr.  W.  A.  Pease,  a  collection  of  the 
silurian  fossils  of  New  York.  Numerous  specimens  of  coal 
plants  were  received  from  Prof.  W.  R.  Johnson,  and  various  fos- 
sils from  other-  sources.  Dr.  Wilson  deposited  five  very  nearly 
perfect  skeletons  of  fossil  saurians  of  the  lias  formation ;  they 
embrace  one  species  of  plesiosaurus,  three  species  of  ichthyosauri, 
and  the  teleosaurus,  or  Gavial  de  Boll. 

In  1848,  the  Honorable  Court  of  Directors  of  the  East  India 
Company  presented  124  casts  of  fossils  from  the  Sivalik  Hills, 
representing  36  species  of  25  genera  of  mammals ;  1  species  of 
bird ;  5  species  of  4  genera  of  reptiles,  and  1  species  of  fish. 
A  fine  cast  of  the  cranium  of  the  Sivatherium  giganteum  was 
received  from  Dr.  Thomas  Horsfield,  Curator  of  the  East  India 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  39 

Company's  museum ;  and  one  half  of  the  lower  jaw,  and  several 
teeth  of  the  fossil  Tapirus  Americanus,  from  the  late  Dr.  Car- 
penter, of  New  Orleans.  The  professors  of  the  Jardin  des 
Plantes  presented  several  casts  of  Anoplotherium  and  Palaeo- 
therium  ;  and  Mr.  Joseph  Culbertson  deposited  unique  specimens 
of  a  fossil  mammal,  the  Poebrotherium.  Dr.  Wilson  deposited  a 
very  perfect  specimen  of  Ichthyosaurus  intermedius  ;  and  pre- 
sented Mr.  Conrad's  collection  of  American  fossils,  .which  in- 
cludes Dr.  Morton's  originals  from  the  cretaceous  formation,  and 
consists  of  about  3,000  specimens  of  1,000  species  :  a  general 
collection  of  British  fossils,  which  includes  selected  specimens 
from  the  cabinet  of  the  late  Miss  Bennet,  of  England,  and  con- 
tains 9,402  specimens  of  2,935  species :  a  collection  of  German 
fossils,  containing  650  specimens  of  500  species  :  and  a  collec- 
tion of  Italian  fossils  from  the  tertiary  of  Piedmont,  containing 
2,000  specimens  of  600  species,  the  whole  forming  an  aggregate 
of  17,207  specimens  of  5,545  species.  Besides  the  above,  128 
specimens  have  been  received  from  several  different  sources. 

In  the  year  1849,  the  American  Philosophical  Society  depo- 
sited its  large  and  very  valuable  collection  of  mammalian  fossils 
in  the  Academy.  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson  presented  1,552  specimens 
of  658  species  of  British  fossils ;  and  from  other  sources,  chiefly 
from  Dr.  Morton,  Mr.  Verreaux,  of  Paris,  and  Messrs.  Budd  and 
McMinn,  197  specimens  were  received. 

In  1850,  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson  presented  88  specimens  of  bones 
of  different  species  of  Dinornis  and  Palapteryz,  obtained  in  New 
Zealand  by  Walter  Mantell,  Esq.,  of  London.  This  coMection 
contains  a  complete  foot  of  Dinornis  giganteus.  Dr.  Joel  Y. 
Schelly,  of  Hereford,  Pennsylvania,  presented  58  fragments  of 
Enaliosaurian(?)  bones,  found  in  Lehigh  County,  Pa.  M.  Ed. 
Verreaux,  of  Paris,  presented  300  specimens  of  255  species  of 
fossil  shells,  from  different  formations  in  France.  Donations 
were  received  also  from  Mr.  Joseph  Culbertson,  of  Carlisle,  Mr. 
Ogden,  of  New  Jersey,  Mr.  Moss,  and  Dr.  Budd. 

In  the  year  1851,  donations  were  received  from  Mr.  Joseph 
Jones,  Mr.  Ledyard  Linklaen,  Dr.  C.  H.  Budd,  Dr.  J.  C.  Fisher, 
W.  Parker  Foulke,  Esq.,  Mr.  M.  Maslin,  Prof.  J.  F.  Frazer,  Prof. 
W.  E.  Horner,  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  Dr.  C.  D.  Meigs. 

The  collection  is  placed  in  cases  on  the  floor  of  the  principal 


40  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

hall ;  the  fossils  of  America  are  in  the  southern  series  ;  and  those 
from  other  parts  of  the  world  in  the  northern  and  middle  series 
of  cases.  The  arrangement  of  this  extensive  cabinet  is  not  yet 
complete. 

The  following  summary  will  indicate  to  the  reader  the  extent 
and  value  of  this  department  of  the  museum. 

The  number  of  fossils  labelled  and  displayed  in  cases,  under 
glass,  is  14,793,  as  follows  : — 

American.    Foreign. 

Silurian,        ....  2,936 

Coal, 89            244 

Cretaceous,  ....  1,162         1,526 

Eocene,         ....  481        1,231 

Miocene,       ....  386         1,132 

Pliocene,       ....  1,176         1,405 

Wealden,      ....  158 

Oolitic,         ....  1,307 

Lias, 855 

Muschelkalk,         ...  201 

Keupferschiefer,    .         .         .  504 

6,230        8,563=14,793 

In  drawers,  ready  to  be  arranged,  5,799 

In  boxes,  not  yet  unpacked,  2,826 

The  aggregate  number  of  specimens,  illustrative  of  palaeon- 
tology, is  23,518. 

In  the  enumeration  of  this  department,  a  tray,  or  group, 
though  in  some  cases  ten  or  twenty  fossils  are  under  one  label, 
has  been  counted  as  one  specimen.  If  every  individual  fossil 
were  counted,  it  is  estimated,  the  aggregate  would  be  at  least 
60,000. 

17.  CHEMICAL  AND  PHILOSOPHICAL  APPARATUS. 

The  collection  of  chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus  is  not 
very  extensive. 

The  Academy  is  indebted  to  the  late  Dr.  Parrish,  for  sundry 
pieces  of  chemical  apparatus ;  to  the  late  Wm.  Maclure  for  three 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  41 

microscopes,  an  air-pump,  a  mineralogical  apparatus,  an  elec- 
trical machine,  an  inflammable  air  lamp,  and  a  five  feet  achro- 
matic telescope,  with  an  aperture  of  three  and  a  half  inches ;  the 
last  was  presented  in  1841 ;  to  the  late  Dr.  Troost,  for  Wollas- 
ton's  reflecting  goniometer ;  to  the  late  ingenious  Isaiah  Lukens 
for  a  most  excellent  clock,  manufactured  by  himself,  and  pre- 
sented in  the  year  1818.  A  club  of  members,  in  1843,  presented 
a  copper  apparatus,  or  oven,  for  disinfecting  zoological  speci- 
mens. 

In  July,  1847,  Mr.  Henry  Seybert  deposited,  for  the  use  of 
members  of  the  Institution,  a  collection  of  chemical  apparatus, 
consisting  of  1,500  pieces,  in  glass,  earthen-ware  and  fire-clay, 
porcelain,  agate,  platina,  and  other  metals,  with  a 'variety  of 
scales  and  weights. 

In  1851,  Prof.  J.  K.  Mitchell  deposited,  for  the  use  of  the 
members,  a  microscope  of  the  manufacture  of  Oberhaiiser  ;  and 
Mr.  John  Price  Wetherill  deposited  one  of  the  manufacture  of 
Pritchard. 


18.  LIBRARY. 

The  library  commenced  in  April,  1812,  with  a  few  volumes 
given  by  Mr.  John  Speakman  and  Dr.  Mann.  Among  the  early 
patrons  of  the  library,  Mr.  William  Maclure,  R.  E.  Griffith,  and 
Zaccheus  Collins  were  prominent.  The  donations  of  Mr.  Ma- 
clure alone,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1840,  amount  to  5,232 
volumes.  Lists  of  the  names  of  the  donors  to  the  library  are 
appended  to  each  half  of  several  volumes  of  the  Journal  of  the 
Academy ;  they  are  too  numerous  to  be  cited  here.  In  the  year 
1841,  the  library  contained  7,000  volumes,  since  which  date  the 
number  has  been  nearly  doubled. 

Very  few  volumes  have  been  purchased  or  received  from  public 
sources  ;  almost  all  have  been  gifts  from  individuals  or  societies 
devoted  to  the  cultivation  and  diffusion  of  knowledge.  Some  are 
received  in  exchange  for  the  publications  of  the  Academy.  The 
donors  are  very  numerous.  Those  who  have  presented  the 
largest  number  of  volumes  since  the  year  1840,  are  Dr.  T.  B. 
Wilson,  Mr.  Edward  Wilson,  and  Dr.  R.  E.  Griffith. 

A  manuscript  catalogue  of  the  library  was  prepared  by  Dr. 


42  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

Hays,  assisted  by  Mr.  Keating ;  and,  subsequently,  the  library 
committee,  consisting  of  Dr.  Samuel  George  Morton,  Dr.  Charles 
Pickering,  Dr.  Thomas  McEwen,  Prof.  Walter  R.  Johnson,  Dr. 
Robert  Bridges,  and  Dr.  Joseph  Carson,  prepared  another  cata- 
logue on  a  different  plan,  which  was  printed  October,  1836.  At 
that  date  the  library  contained  6,890  volumes,  exclusive  of  dupli- 
cates, and  435  separate  maps  and  charts. 

The  number  of  volumes  for  circulation  is  limited.  It  has  been 
generally  considered  desirable  that  the  library  should  be  for 
reference  chiefly,  and  the  library  apartment  a  reading-room, 
open  freely  to  the  members  and  strangers  properly  introduced. 
The  use  of  large  and  costly  works  and  periodicals  is  restricted  to 
the  hall. 

The  following  statement  exhibits  the  number  of  volumes  in 
each  department,  on  the  31st  of  December,  1851.  The  library 
is  placed  in  the  west  and  south-west  basement-rooms. 

Natural  Sciences 3,626 

Anatomy  and  Physiology  .....  327 

Voyages  and  Travels 809 

History  and  Geography     .....  525 

Transactions  of  Societies,  Journals,  Memoirs,  &c.  2,323 

Dictionaries  of  Arts  and  Sciences      .         .         .  576 

Maps  (bound  in  volumes)  .....  22 

Chemistry  and  Physical  Science         .         .         .  339 

Historical  Documents,  of  all  descriptions    .         .  1,856 

Antiquities  and  the  Fine  Arts    ....  428 

Miscellaneous    .......  1,451 

Not  recorded  in  Catalogue          ....  350 

Pamphlets,  and  parts  of  works  in  cou?se  of  publi- 
cation, when  bound         .....  750 


13,382 

It  is  remarkable  that  so  large  a  collection  of  books  should 
have  been  made  without  the  assistance  of  a  library  fund,  the 
establishment  of  which  has  long  been  deemed  an  important 
object.  But  the  treasury  of  the  Society  has  never  been  more 
than  sufficient  to  meet  the  demands  against  it  for  purposes  and 
objects  necessary  to  the  care  and  preservation  of  the  Museum. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  43 


SUMMARY. 

Mammals  ....  '  .'  ".  .  '  636 
Birds  ....  VV  /  /.  27,000 
Birds' nests  * '''.^ '.';; .'-  V  •'?!"/ ''"'I?;  214 
Birds' eggs  .  '>  '\^'J-'.' "'. '  '' '.'  '  ''.  .  5,056 
Fishes  .  .  .  ;^' r.  ';-"•  ..«''.•  1,500 
Reptiles  .  ..  ~  \'  .  'i  V"~  -  2,000 

shells     ;  :j ;v;-.;  •/.;';•;'.. ""''.  ;  .  25,000 

Insects       ;.',;.-_'  -:'..  ;  ." V:  ;\;"i/".  ."    •  6,000 

Crustaceans  ,  /  '•'.'•  "...  ..'  '  .  2,054 
Cirrhopods  .  ''V.1'..-.  \  V  '"  ,'  113 

Annellidans  .      .    ,-v  ''!"••.-..         .  .        80 

Echinoderms        -  I'     4  /      v..    '     :  '       .  453 

Medusas,  Sponges,  and  Corallines    .         .  298 

Plants  .         .         .      •"..'';'    .         .         .  46,000 

Ethnological  Specimens      .'   . '••-..         .  1,015 

Comparative  anatomy     ....  1,720 

Minerals        ,     ' 4,152 

Rocks   .      ;  '.•       .        .       ..        .        .  544 

Possils  .   :  ',' .'        .'    '  ;.  .     .,       .        .  23,518 

Apparatus     .         .         .         ....  1,513 

Books  (volumes)     .        »/.''..  13,382 

The  Museum  contains  an  aggregate  of  148,876  specimens  of 
natural  history. 

These  statements  will  convey  an  idea  of  the  present  condition 
of  the  Academy,  and  of  the  facilities  it  affords  for  the  study  of 
the  various  branches  of  natural  science. 

But  there  are  questions  yet  to  answer.  Whence  sprang  this 
edifice,  this  centre,  from  which  radiate  almost  countless  paths  to 
truth,  leading  to  every  region,  to  every  domain  in  Nature,  acces- 
sible to  the  inquisitive  impulses  of  the  human  mind  ?  To  whom 
are  we  indebted  for  these  charts,  the  buoys  and  beacon-lights  to 
guide  us  over  the  ever-expanding  ocean  of  truth  ?  To  whom  do 
we  owe  acknowledgments  for  these  means  of  fathoming  the 
depths  of  natural  science,  and  of  avoiding  the  rocks  of  error,  as 
we  sail  smoothly  and  in  safety,  though  slowly  it  may  be,  on  the 
vast  expanse  of  human  investigation,  beset  by  deceptive  appear- 
ances, doubts,  and  darkness  ? 


44  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

We  may  justly  expect  the  congratulations  of  the  public  on  our 
academic  possessions,  the  Museum  and  Library ;  and  it  will  detract 
nothing  from  their  value  to  permit  the  credit  of  these  acquisitions 
to  inure  to  our  academic  fathers.  The  Chinese  teach  that  the 
praiseworthy  achievements  of  children  make  up  the  glory,  not 
of  themselves,  but  of  their  ancestors. 

The  facts  acquired  in  science,  the  improvements  achieved  in 
the  arts  by  Americans,  as  well  as  their  military  and  naval  suc- 
cess since  the  days  of  the  Revolution,  combine  to  add  lustre  to 
the  name  of  the  Father  of  his  country;  and  to  rear  an  ever- 
growing monument  to  his  memory,  more  striking  and  more  dura- 
ble than  the  loftiest  structure  of  marble  within  the  power  of  man 
to  raise.  The  dignity  and  power  of  a  nation  are  commensurate 
with  the  intelligence  of  the  people ;  and  its  reputation  and  re- 
spectability abroad,  will  be  in  proportion  to  its  extent.  The  in- 
crease and  diffusion  of  knowledge,  especially  in  a  republic,  are 
worthy  of  the  loftiest  ambition  of  the  patriot;  he  who  contributes 
to  these  ends,  assists  to  spread  and  perpetuate  human  liberty 
throughout  the  world. 

The  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  owes  its  origin  to  the 
joint  labors  of  a  few  individuals,  somewhat  influenced  by  circum- 
stances. In  the  year  1810,  the  population  of  Philadelphia  was 
96,664  (the  county  included),  and  though  it  was  the  principal 
city  of  the  Union,  it  contained  few  places  of  public  amuse- 
ment. The  Chestnut  Street  Theatre  was  closed  throughout  the 
summer,  and  in  the  winter  season  was  open  only  three  evenings 
in  the  week ;  but  it  was  not  always  fully  encouraged.  It  had  a 
rival  in  Ricket's  Circus,  which  was  nearly  opposite.  The  Phila- 
delphia Museum,  founded  by  C.  "W.  Peale,  in  1784,  and  removed 
into  the  State  House  in  1802,  was  a  place  of  daily  resort.  A 
few  public  gardens,  some  taverns,  and  two  or  three  oyster-cellars, 
constituted  the  common  attractions  of  the  idle  young  men  of  the 
time. 

At  that  period,  the  population  of  the  United  States  included 
very  few  persons  devoted  to  the  investigation  of  natural  objects; 
it  may  be  said,  there  was  not  an  American  naturalist  of  distinc- 
tion in  the  Union.  But  in  Pennsylvania,  there  were  several 
gentlemen  who  had  acquired  reputation  in  the  cultivation  of 
botany,  among  whom  the  Bartrams,  the  Muhlenbergs,  and  Bartons 
were  conspicuous.  Alexander  Wilson  had  commenced  the  publi- 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  45 

cation  of  the  American  Ornithology ;  the  first  volume  appeared 
in  September,  1808,  the  second  in  January,  1810,  the  fifth  and 
sixth  in  1812,  and  the  seventh  in  April,  1813  :  the  author  died 
in  August,  1813,  leaving  his  great  work  incomplete. 

The  Natural  Sciences  attracted  very  little  attention  from  the 
public  ;  and  the  very  few  persons  who  cultivated  them,  contended 
with  many  difficulties.  There  were  neither  cabinets  to  awaken, 
nor  libraries  to  gratify  a  desire  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
wonders  of  the  creation.  There  were  in  the  city  two  or  three 
collections  of  minerals  in  the  possession  of  gentlemen  who  had 
brought  them  from  Europe ;  but  they  were  not  accessible  to  the 
public.  There  was  no  book  on  mineralogy  for  sale  in  this 
country  ;  and  a  gentleman  who  was  then  a  young  mineralogist, 
assures  me  that  he  gathered  minerals,  and  submitted  them  to  Dr. 
Seybert,  who  kindly  named  them  for  him.  That  vulgar  and 
ephemeral  curiosity  which  manifests  itself  in  a  desire  to  see  what 
is  not  commonly  beheld  in  nature,  or  in  art,  expended  itself  at 
the  Philadelphia  Museum,  in  which  were  collections  of  implements 
used  by  the  aborigenes  of  the  country  in  war  and  peace,  speci- 
mens of  natural  history,  pictures,  and  whatever  in  the  arts  was 
calculated  to  excite  the  wonder  of  the  ignorant  or  admiration  of 
the  instructed.  The  acquisition  of  a  monster  was  more  valuable, 
in  the  estimation  of  the  director  of  the  museum,  than  a  normal 
specimen ;  a  chicken  with  three  legs,  or  a  calf  with  two  heads, 
attracted  more  attention  than  the  rarest  bird  or  beast  of  true 
proportions.  A  cajoling  fiction,  the  "perpetual  motion,"  excited 
more  astonishment  than  the  proof  of  antediluvian  life  exhibited 
in  the  skeleton  of  a  mastodon.  This  was  among  the  most  valua- 
ble specimens  in  the  museum,  which,  according  to  Dr.  Mease, 
contained  in  1811,  about  200  mammals,  and  about  1,000  birds. 
But,  meagre  as  it  was,  this  collection  was  not  freely  accessible  to 
students  of  natural  history ;  for  the  purposes  of  study  it  was  un- 
available. 

There  were  some  young  persons,  however,  disposed  to  study 
the  laws  of  the  creation.  Though  possessed  of  little  information, 
they  were  prone  to  fall  into  discussions  upon  natural  phenomena, 
and  it  is  probable,  they  not  unfrequently  dealt  in  abstractions 
and  wild  speculations.  All  of  them  were  occupied  during  the 
day,  in  those  vocations  upon  which  they  respectively  depended 
for  support;  in  the  evening,  they  met  without  appointment  at  such 


46  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

places  of  common  resort  as  the  city  afforded  for  those  of  their 
social  position.  Comparison  of  ideas,  soon  forced  upon  them  a 
conviction  that  they  were  ignorant  of  even  the  rudiments  of  those 
branches  of  knowledge  which  had  attracted  their  attention.  All 
professed  to  be  in  search  of  truth,  and  to  desire  to  free  themselves 
from  error  and  prejudice  of  every  kind.  They  probably  found 
that  conversations  upon  unusual  topics,  within  ear-shot  of 
strangers  met  with  at  public  places,  provoked  unwelcome  atten- 
tion ;  and  that  discussions  pursued  -irregularly  and  without 
method,  were  not  likely  to  be  profitable. 

At  the  period  referred  to,  Mr.  John  Speakman  was  established 
as  an  apothecary,  at  the  north-west  corner  of  Market  and  Second 
Streets.  He  was  born  in  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  and  belonged  to 
the  religious  society  of  Friends.  His  father  was  strongly  op- 
posed to  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  refused  to  use  any  article 
known  to  be  the  product  of  slave  labor.  Young  Speakman  was 
zealously  religious.  He  possessed  a  speculative  mind,  and  an 
eminently  benevolent  disposition.  The  unworthy  conduct  of  a 
seemingly  pious  "  Friend,"  and  other  circumstances  not  neces- 
sary to  particularize,  led  him  to  habits  of  intense  thought  and 
reflection.  But  he  had  acquired  very  little  knowledge  of  the 
laws  of  nature  from  books,  and  hence  he  encountered  many  dif- 
ficulties in  forming  definite  conclusions.  He  however  assumed 
as  an  axiom,  that  the  evils  which  men  commit  are  due  to  their 
ignorance  of  what  is  best  adapted  to  secure  their  own  good  and 
happiness ;  and  that  want  of  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nature  ia 
the  source  of  all  social  evils.  He  therefore  earnestly  sought  to 
improve  the  condition  of  mankind  by  seeking  knowledge  himself, 
and  imparting  what  he  acquired  to  others.  Yet  he  did  not  de- 
vote himself  methodically  to  study,  but  sought  information  in 
conversation  with  those  friends  and  acquaintances  who  possessed 
congenial  tastes.  He  found  it  pleasant  to  glean  knowledge  from 
the  remarks  of  the  many  intelligent  persons  who  frequented  his 
shop,  which  became  a  centre  of  the  literary  and  scientific  gossip 
of  the  day.  But  Mr.  Speakman's  defective  training  in  a  coun- 
try school,  did  not  enable  him  to  give  profitable  direction  to  that 
spirit  of  inquiry,  with  which  the  circumstances  of  his  private 
life  had  imbued  his  mind — a  mind  at  once  ingenuous,  earnest,  and 
scrupulously  honest. 

Among  his  social  companions  was  Mr.  Jacob  Gilliams,  a  native 


ACADEMY  OF  NATUKAL  SCIENCES.  47 

of  Philadelphia,  and  a  leading  dentist  of  the  day.  This  gentle- 
man, though  the  practice  of  his  profession  did  not  permit  him 
to  cultivate  extensively  any  branch  of  natural  science,  was  ever 
ready  to  aid  and  facilitate  the  labors  of  its  votaries,  for  the  ad- 
vantage and  pleasure  he  derived  from  listening  to  their  conver- 
sations. He  was  an  intimate  associate  of  Mr.  Thomas  Say,  and, 
about  the  time  (1808)  when  Mr.  Alexander  Wilson  was  engaged 

V  /  O     o 

upon  his  Ornithology,  they  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting  a  relative 
or  connection  of  Mr.  Say,  at  Kingsessing,  Mr.  Wm.  Bartram, 
with  whom  Mr.  Wilson  was  on  terms  of  great  intimacy.  Mr. 
Gilliams  attributes  his  love  of  nature  mainly  to  the  influence  of 
those  visits.  When  a  boy,  he  gathered  stones  and  minerals ; 
and  caught  caterpillars,  and  shut  them  up  to  observe  their  meta- 
morphoses. His  mother  saw,  in  the  gratification  of  this  taste, 
that  his  clothes  were  constantly  soiled  ;  and  on  this  account  she 
frequently  censured  such  pursuits. 

This  brief  allusion  to  the  circumstances  and  the  general  in- 
fluences under  which  these  two  gentlemen,  and  some  others, 
lived,  as  well  as  the  temper  of  their  minds  and  inclinations  at 
the  time,  will  assist  to  explain  the  origin  of  the  Academy. 

At  one  of  those  accidental  meetings,  previously  alluded  to, 
Mr.  Speaknfan  suggested  that  if  they  and  their  acquaintances 
could  be  induced  to  meet  together  at  stated  times,  where  they 
would  be  secure  from  interruption,  to  communicate  to  each  other 
what  they  might  learn  about  the  phenomena  of  nature,  they 
would  derive  more  pleasure  and  profit  than  from  desultory  and 
irregular  conversations.  Mr.  Gilliams  enlarged  upon  the  sug- 
gestion. No  doubt  was  entertained  of  the  propriety  of  forming 
an  association,  the  members  of  which  should  devote  their  leisure 
to  study  natural  history.  Before  the  two  friends  separated, 
it  was  agreed  they  should  meet  on  the  following  Saturday  even- 
ing at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Speakman,  and  each  should  invite 
such  of  his  friends  as  might  be  found,  on  consultation,  favorable 
to  the  formation  of  the  proposed  society. 

On  the  evening  of  the  25th  of  January,  1812,  in  accordance 
with  the  engagement  above  stated,  Dr.  Gerard  Troost,  Dr.  Ca- 
millus  Macmahon  Mann,  Messrs.  Jacob  Gilliams,  John  Shinn,  Jr., 
Nicholas  S.  Parmantier,  and  John  Speakman,  assembled  at  the 
residence  of  the  gentleman  last  named. 

Mr.  Speakman  officiated  as   Chairman,  and  Dr.  Mann  acted 


48  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

as  Secretary,  by  the  unanimous  request  of  the  company.  The 
minutes  are  described  to  be  those  of  "  a  meeting  of  gentlemen, 
friends  of  science,  and  of  rational  disposal  of  leisure  moments." 

It  may  be  stated,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  archives 
and  the  traditions  in  the  Society,  that  at  this  first  meeting  various 
plans  of  a  society  were  submitted  and  discussed,  and  that,  after 
having  agreed  upon  the  general  basis,  the  details  of  organization 
were  referred  to  a  committee. 

It  was  agreed  that  the  exclusive  object  of  the  society  should 
be  the  cultivation  of  natural  science. 

A  memorandum  of  a  conversation  which  occurred  at  this 
meeting,  informs  us  that  the  founders  clearly  perceived  the  im- 
portance of  the  work  in  which  they  were  about  to  engage,  and 
entertained,  vaguely  it  may  be,  most  agreeable  anticipations  of 
the  future  extent  and  eminence  of  the  institution.  They  clearly 
perceived  that  "  the  operations  of  nature,"  to  use  the  language 
of  the  memorandum,  "  demand  unprejudiced,  attentive,  and  se- 
vere scrutiny;  and,  [in  order]  that  men  may  aid  each  other  by  a 
comparison  of  observations,  their  discussions  must  be  free."  It 
was  said  that  sectarians  "  are  prone  to  oppose  the  promulgation 
and  development  of  any  newly-discovered  fact,  which  to  them 
seems  likely  in  the  least  to  militate  against  their  cause  or  dog- 
mas ;  and  it  was  from  such  motives  that  men  of  science,  in  the 
dark  ages,  experienced  so  much  persecution ;  and  they  have  ex- 
perienced persecution  even  to  our  own  time,  until  truth  became 
too  powerful  for  their  opposition." 

For  such  reasons,  it  was  feared  that  political  or  religious  dis- 
putants, should  they  become  members  of  the  society,  might  exert 
an  unhappy  influence  on  its  prosperity.  The  founders  hoped 
that  all  the  members  elected  would  be  lovers  or  cultivators  of 
science  and  polite  literature ;  and  while  all  were  to  be  unques- 
tioned upon  their  religious  and  political  creeds,  the  wand  and  the 
sceptre  were  to  be  laid  down  at  the  doors  of  an  institution  de- 
voted entirely  to  science.  It  was  determined  that  neither  religion 
nor  politics,  in  any  shape  or  form,  should  be  even  alluded  to  at 
any  meeting  of  the  society ;  and  it  was  perhaps  from  this  deter- 
mination the  erroneous  notion  sprang,  which  according  to  tradi- 
tion prevailed  with  some,  that  the  object  of  the  institution  was 
to  favor  religious  infidelity. 

The  company  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  of  organization ; 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  49 

appointed  Mr.  Speakman  treasurer,  and  adjourned  to  meet  Feb- 
ruary 1st,  to  report  progress.  The  gentlemen  named  had  several 
meetings  during  the  months  of  February  and  March,  at  the  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Speakman  :  on  these  occasions  the  organization  of 
the  Society  was  the  only  subject  of  conversation. 

The  gentlemen  were  reluctant  to  be  continuously  indebted  to 
the  hospitality  of  Mr.  Speakman  for  a  place  of  meeting;  and 
in  the  month  of  March  held  two  or  three  sessions  at  a  public 
house  in  Market,  or  High  Street,  near  the  corner  of  Franklin 
Place,  known  as  "  Mercer's  Cake  Shop,"  which  is  regarded  as 
the  first  public  establishment  at  which  ice-cream  was  sold  in  Phi- 
ladelphia. Under  an  impression  that  all  visitors  to  such  houses 
must  in  courtesy  become  customers,  it  was  feared  that  the  in- 
fant society  might  degenerate  into  a  club  of  bon-vivants,  and 
for  this  reason  more  private  accommodation  was  sought. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  17th  of  March,  a  "  Constitutional  Act" 
was  discussed  and  agreed  upon ;  but  the  present  title,  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences,  was  employed,  for  the  first  time,  in  the  mi- 
nutes for  March  21st.  This  name  was  adopted  on  a  suggestion 
of  Dr.  Samuel  Jackson,  at  present  the  distinguished  Professor  of 
the  Institutes  of  Medicine  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
On  this  occasion,  the  members  pledged  themselves  to  a  mutual 
support,  in  all  things  pertaining  to  establishing  an  academy  of 
natural  sciences;  and  to  share  the  expenses  and  responsibility 
which  might  accrue.  They  agreed  "  to  contribute  to  the  for- 
mation of  a  museum  of  natural  history,  a  library  of  works  of 
science,  a  chemical  experimental  laboratory,  an  experimental 
philosophical  apparatus,  and  every  other  desirable  appendage 
or  convenience,  for  the  illustration  and  advancement  of  natural 
knowledge,  and  for  the  common  benefit  of  all  the  individuals 
who  may  be  admitted  members  of  our  Institution." 

Mr.  Thomas  Say  was  chosen  a  member,  and  it  was  determined 
that,  although  he  had  not  attended  the  primary  meetings,  his 
name  should  be  enrolled  among  those  of  the  founders.  About 
this  date,  Mr.  Speakman  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Say,  and 
joined  him  in  business  under  the  firm  of  Speakman  and  Say. 
The  presence  of  Mr.  Say  at  the  meetings  of  the  Academy,  is  re- 
corded, for  the  first  time,  Thursday,  April  16,  1812  ;  after  that 
date,  except  when  away  from  the  city,  he  was  rarely  absent  from 
any  session  of  the  Society. 
4 


50  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

It  was  determined  that  the  founders,  seven  in  number,  should 
constitute  a  "  Committee  and  Board  of  Regulations,  Management, 
and  Direction." 

It  was  decided,  at  a  meeting  of  the  same  day,  that  the  origin 
of  the  Institution  should  date  from  the  21st  of  March,  A.  D. 
1812,  or  the  37th  year  of  the  United  States,  and  its  anniver- 
sary should  be  on  that  day.  Thursday  was  fixed  for  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Board  of  Management,  and  Saturday  for  the  general 
session  of  the  Society. 

The  formation  of  a  society,  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  na- 
tural knowledge,  from  which  the  discussion  of  national,  religious, 
and  political  questions  should  be  excluded,  had  been  a  subject 
of  public  conversation  for  three  months,  and  "many  men  of 
scientific  acquirements  and  apparent  zeal"  had  been  consulted,  and 
probably  invited  to  join  in  the  enterprise.  But  up  to  this  date 
(March  21)  only  six  had  formally  met  together,  and  they  found 
in  their  small  number,  little  to  encourage  them  to  proceed.  They 
were  aware  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  to  which  they  were 
exposed ;  but  they  bravely  determined  to  push  forward.  "  We 
cannot  dissemble  to  ourselves,"  say  the  founders  at  this  time, 
"  that  unless  we  take  on  ourselves,  among  our  very  small  num- 
ber, a  responsibility,  as  to  character  and  expenses,  that  may  and 
must  be  considerable ;  and,  unless  we  make  very  extraordinary, 
zealous,  determined,  and  persevering  exertions,  the  Institution 
must  die  in  the  nutshell,  before  it  can  germinate  and  take  root : 
in  fine,  that  unless  we  be  faithful  and  honorable  to  each  other, 
and  zealous  for  the  interests  of  science ;  liberally  devote  much 
time,  much  industry,  much  labor,  much  attention,  and  any  sum 
of  money  that  may  be  requisite,  such  an  establishment  as  the 
one  Ave  desire  may  never  take  place,  or  not  for  ages,  in  this  com- 
munity ;  a  society  of  generous,  good-willing  emulation  for  the 
acquirement,  increase,  simplification,  and  diffusion  of  natural 
knowledge." 

About  the  first  of  April,  a  small  room  was  rented  on  the  second 
floor  of  a  house  on  the  east  side  of  North  Second  Street,  near 
Race,  No.  121.  The  ground-floor  was  occupied  as  a  milliner's 


In  this  small  room  the  nucleus  of  the  present  Museum  and 
Library  first  appeared.  Mr.  Speakman  and  Dr.  Mann  presented 
books  ;  Mr.  Parmantier  presented  an  herbarium  collected  in  the 
environs  of  Paris;  Dr.  Barnes  presented  a  few  shells  and  insects: 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  51 

Mr.  Say  a  few  mounted  birds ;  and  Dr.  Troost  some  artificial 
crystals,  prepared  by  himself.  Each  member  had  given  some- 
thing ;  and,  though  the  "  display  of  objects  of  science" 'was  "  cal- 
culated rather  to  excite  merriment  than  procure  respect"  at  the 
time  (April  16,  1812)  when  Mr.  Say  was  first  introduced  to  the 
temple,  it  was  the  germ  which  his  assiduous  care  assisted  in  de- 
veloping to  the  present  extent  and  value. 

Dr.  John  Barnes,  who  was  the  first  member  elected,  took  his 
seat  on  the  18th  of  April.  On  this  occasion,  the  Board  of 
Management,  which  included  all  the  founders,  retired  to  an  ad- 
joining apartment  for  the  transaction  of  business,  leaving  Dr. 
Barnes  alone  to  constitute  the  meeting  of  the  Academy. 

In  this  month  the  members  of  the  Academy  made  an  excur- 
sion to  Perkiomen,  for  the  purpose  of  augmenting  the  collection 
of  minerals. 

On  the  7th  of  May,  the  officers  of  the  Institution  were  as 
follows : — 

GERARD  TROOST,  M.  D.,  President. 


N.  S.  PARMANTIER, 
JOHN  SHINN,  JR., 
JOHN  SPEAKMAN, 
JACOB  GILLIAMS, 
THOMAS  SAY, 

>  Vice-Presidents. 

Treasurer. 
Comptroller. 
Conservator. 

C.  M.  MANN,  M.  D.,        Secretary. 

On  the  15th  of  August,  the  collection  of  minerals  previously 
purchased  from  Dr.  Seybert,  by  Mr.  Speakman,  came  formally 
into  the  possession  of  the  Society.  The  sum  of  $750,  which  Mr. 
Speakman  had  advanced  from  his  private  means,  was  converted 
into  shares  of  stock  of  $20  each,  bearing  six  per  cent,  interest, 
which  were  to  be  redeemed  as  soon  as  the  treasury  of  the  Aca- 
demy would  permit.  Stockholders  only  were  permitted  to  vote 
on  questions  relating  to  the  property  of  the  Institution ;  and 
virtually  they  controlled  the  affairs  of  the  Academy.  The  pur- 
chase of  this  cabinet  of  minerals,  by  Mr.  Speakman,  and  the 
creation  of  stock  to  the  amount  of  its  cost,  formed  a  chain  which 
bound  the  members  together,  without  which  they  might  have 
ceased  to  meet  before  the  close  of  the  year  1812. 

Soon  after  the  Seybert  cabinet  was  added  to  the  Museum,  Dr. 
Troost  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  on  mineralogy  before  the 
Academy. 


52  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

The  rapid  increase  of  the  collections,  and  the  narrow  limits  of 
the  apartments  at  No.  121  Second  Street,  rendered  more  ex- 
tensive accommodations  necessary.  With  the  approbation  of 
the  Society,  Messrs.  Speakman  and  Say  rented  the  upper  part 
of  a  three-storied  house  on  the  vPest  side  of  North  Second  Street 
(now  No.  78  or  80),  the  ground-floor  of  which  was  occupied  as  a 
store  for  the  sale  of  iron  in  bars,  and  other  forms.  To  these 
apartments,  called  the  Hall  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences, 
the  collections  were  removed  in  the  month  of  September. 

The  efforts  of  the  infant  Academy  were  devoted  to  increase 
the  Museum  and  Library,  and  to  augment  the  number  of  members 
and  correspondents.  Several  persons  declined  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  election. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1812,  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences 
consisted  of  fourteen  members  and  thirty-three  correspondents. 
Of  the  twelve  members  elected,  five  resigned  during  the  year, 
and  two  at  a  later  period.  The  names  of  the  twelve  members 
are  as  follows ;  those  of  the  seven  founders  are  placed  first,  and 
those  in  italics  are  deceased  : — 

Jacob  Gilliams,  Gerard  Troost,  M.  D., 
Camillas  M.  Mann,  M.  D.,     John  Barnes, 
N.  S.  Parmantier,  Thomas  P  Jones, 
Thomas  Say,                           lsaian  Lukens, 
John  Shinn,  Jr.,  Wm.  Maclure, 
John  Speakman,                       Joseph.  Stouse,  M.  D. 
During  the  year  1813,  ten  were  elected  members  and  seven 
correspondents;  of  the  ten  members,  the  names  of  six  only  re- 
main on  the  list,  namely  : 

M  S.  Allison,  Jacob  PeirC6j 

Keubenffaines,  Benjamin  s 

Robert  Hare,  Alexander  Wilson. 

were  Tde  to  the  Museum  and  Librar*  a*d  at  ^e 

'  ll  aPPo-tment,  read  selections  from 
The   organization  of  the  Society  still 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  53 

of  the  State,  farmers  and  others  were  invited  to  forward  to 
Messrs.  Speakman  and  Say  minerals,  which  were  to  be  analyzed, 
and  the  results  published  free  of  cost. 

Of  twenty-five  members  elected  in  the  course  of  1814,  the 
names  of  ten  remain  on  the  list,  as  follows : — 

Joseph  Correct  de  Serra,  LL.D.,  Caleb  Richardson, 

Robert  Frazer,  Joseph  Rotch, 

Thomas  C.  James,  M.  D.,  Benjamin  Warner, 

Wm.  Kneass,  John  F.  Waterhouse,  M.  D. 
Richard  Randolph,  Wm.  S.  Warder. 

Seventeen  correspondents  were  elected  during  the  year. 

At  one  of  the  meetings  of  this  year,  Dr.  Waterhouse  read  a 
descriptive  sketch  of  the  mineralogy  of  the  northern  and  western 
environs  of  Boston.  During  the  spring,  a  course  of  popular  lec- 
tures on  botany  was  delivered,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Society, 
by  Drs.  Waterhouse  and  Barnes,  in  the  rooms  of  the  Agricultural 
Society.  These  were  the  first  popular  lectures  on  botany  ever 
delivered  in  this  city ;  they  were  attended  by  more  than  two 
hundred  ladies,  besides  a  considerable  number  of  gentlemen. 
This  course  was  repeated  in  the  spring  of  1815,  in  the  lecture- 
room  at  the  south-west  corner  of  Arch  and  Fifth  Streets,  per- 
taining to  the  Free  Quakers.-  For  this  last  course  tickets  of 
admission  were  presented  to  the  divinity  students  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Staughton. 

The  increase  of  the  Museum  required  larger  accommodations 
than  the  apartments  of  the  Academy  afforded.  On  the  9th  of 
August,  1814,  Mr.  J.  Gilliams  proposed  to  build  a  hall  for  the 
use  of  the  Academy,  on  a  vacant  lot  in  the  rear  of  his  father's 
residence,  at  an  annual  rent  of  two  hundred  dollars ;  but  this 
generous  offer  was  not  accepted  until  April,  1815. 

The  cabinet  and  library  were  moved  into  the  new  hall  about 
the  end  of  July.  The  minutes  of  the  meeting  for  August  1, 
1815,  are  as  follows :  "  Owing  to  the  confusion  of  moving  from 
the  Old  Hall,  in  Second  Street,  to  the  New  Hall,  Gilliams'  Court, 
Arch  Street,  between  Front  and  Second  Streets,  the  members 
assembled  judged  it  most  expedient  not  to  organize  the  meeting 
for  this  evening,  and  accordingly  withdrew." 

The  first  period  of  the  history  of  the  Academy  extends  from 
the  foundation  to  its  establishment  in  the  new  hall,  erected  at 
the  expense  of  Mr.  Gilliams. 


54  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

The  war  between  this  country  and  Great  Britain  existed 
through  the  same  time,  from  1812  to  1815,  and  influenced  un- 
favorably the  progress  of  the  Institution.  Besides  interrupting 
to  a  considerable  extent,  intercourse  with  Europe,  and  thus  al- 
most entirely  preventing  the  importation  of  scientific  books 
needed  by  the  Society,  some  of  its  most  zealous  and  active  mem- 
bers were  drawn  off  from  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  the  Academy 
to  serve  in  the  camp.  Messrs.  Say,  Gilliams,  and  Sbinn  were 
among  the  volunteer  troops  assembled  for  the  defence  of  the 
city  ;°and  Mr.  Speakman  and  other  members  assisted  in  the  labor 
of  constructing,  in  the  neighborhood,  military  works  then  sup- 
posed to  be  required  for  the  protection  of  Philadelphia. 

Of  the  founders  of  the  Academy  I  am  able  to  state  very  little. 
Dr.  Camillus  M.  Mann,  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Society,  was 
a  native  of  Ireland.  He  served  in  the  Irish  rebellion  of  1798, 
against  the  government,  and  was  employed  by  the  rebels  to  seek 
aid  in  France,  from  which  country  he  emigrated  to  the  United 
States.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  distinguished  young  German 
artist,  Mr.  Krimmel,  who  was  drowned  near  Germantown,  in 
1823.  Dr.  Mann  removed  to  Baltimore,  where  he  edited  a 
newspaper  for  some  time.  The  period  of  his  death  I  have  not 
been  able  to  ascertain. 

Our  first  Curator,  Mr.  Thomas  Say,  whose  knowledge,  amia- 
bility, and  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  Institution,  were 
almost  indispensable  to  the  continued  existence  of  the  Academy 
in  its  early  days,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  July  27,  1787  ;  and, 
when  he  became  one  of  its  founders,  was  in  his  twenty-fifth  year. 
Mr.  Speakman,  his  partner  in  business,  was  ever  ready  to  do  all 
the  work  of  the  shop,  to  enable  Mr.  Say  to  devote  his  whole 
time  to  labor  in  the  Academy.  Through  endorsement  for  unfor- 
tunate friends,  the  firm  and  business  of  Speakman  and  Say  were 
at  an  end ;  and  it  is  related  of  these  servants  of  science,  that 
they  retained  scarcely  anything  for  themselves ;  and  that  Mr. 
Say  gave  to  those  to  whom  they  had  become  creditors  by  en- 
dorsement, the  contents  of  his  pocket-book,  and  even  the  loose 
change  in  his  purse.  After  this,  he  resided  in  the  Hall  of  the 
Academy,  where  he  made  his  bed  beneath  a  skeleton  of  a  horse, 
and  fed  himself  on  bread  and  milk ;  occasionally  he  cooked  a  chop 
or  boiled  an  egg ;  but  he  was  wont  to  regard  eating  as  an  in- 
convenient interruption  to  scientific  pursuits,  and  often  expressed 
a  wish  that  he  had  been  made  with  a  hole  in  his  side,  in  which 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  55 

he  might  deposit,  from  time  to  time,  the  quantity  of  food  requi- 
site for  his  nourishment.  He  lived  in  this  manner  several  years, 
during  which  time  his  food  did  not  cost,  on  an  average,  more 
than  twelve  cents  a  day.  An  interesting  and  instructive  me- 
moir of  this  gentleman  was  read  before  the  Academy,  hy  Dr. 
Benjamin  H.  Coates,  December  16,  1834,  which  was  published 
by  order  of  the  Institution. 

Of  Mr.  Jacob  Gilliams,  our  first  comptroller,  or  auditor,  and 
of  Mr.  John  Speakman,  our  first  treasurer,  mention  has  been 
made.  Both  are  still  warm  friends  of  the  Institution.  As  late 
as  the  year  1839,  Mr.  Speakman,  at  a  very  considerable  sacrifice 
of  his  private  interests,  visited  Mr.  Maclure,  in  Mexico,  where  he 
spent  several  months,  in  behalf  of  the  Academy. 

Mr.  John  Shinn,  Jr.,  one  of  the  first  Vice-Presidents,  was  a 
native  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  employed  as  a  manufacturing 
chemist. 

Mr.  N.  S.  Parmantier,  also  one  of  the  first  Vice-Presidents, 
was  a  native  of  France.  He  was  a  distiller  and  manufacturer  of 
cordials.  He  removed  to  Florida. 

Our  first  President,  Dr.  Gerard  Troost,  was  born  at  Bois-Le- 
Duc,  in  Holland,  March  15,  1776.  He  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  country,  and  received  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine  from  the  University  of  Leyden.  In  1801,  the  Col- 
lege of  Amsterdam  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Master  in 
Pharmacy,  and  he  practised  this  art  for  a  brief  period,  both  at 
Amsterdam  and  at  the  Hague.  He  served  twice  in  the  army, 
first  as  a  private  soldier,  and  subsequently  as  an  officer  of  the 
first  class  in  the  medical  department.  During  his  military  service 
he  was  wounded  twice;  once  in  the  thigh,  and  once  in  the  head. 

In  1807,  the  King  of  Holland,  Louis  Napoleon,  sent  him  to 
Paris,  to  improve  himself  in  his  favorite  science.  There  he  be- 
came the  pupil  and  companion  of  the  celebrated  Abbe*  Rene'  Just 
Haiiy,  the  author  of  a  new  system  of  crystallography.  While  in 
Paris,  he  translated  into  the  Dutch  language,  one  of  the  earlier 
works  of  Humboldt,  "The  Aspects  of  Nature." 

He  travelled  in  France,  Italy,  Germany,  and  Switzerland,  and 
collected  a  valuable  cabinet  of  minerals,  which  he  sold  to  his  pa- 
tron, the  king  of  Holland. 

In  the  year  1809,  he  was  appointed  by  the  king  of  Holland 
to  visit  the  island  of  Java,  in  the  capacity  of  a  naturalist.  To 
avoid  the  British  cruisers,  he  took  passage  in  an  American  vessel 


<j(j  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

from  a  northern  port,  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  French  Go- 
vernment, for  New  York,  from  which  port  he  proposed  to  reach 
the  East  Indies,  under  the  protection  of  the  American  flag.  In 
those  days  our  neutral  flag  was  little  respected,  either  by  France 
or  England.  The  vessel  on  board  of  which  he  had  embarked, 
was  captured  by  a  French  privateer,  and  carried  into  the  port  of 
Dunkirk,  where  he  was  deprived  of  his  papers,  and  detained  a 
prisoner,  until  his  real  name  and  character  were  ascertained  by 
the  French  Government,  when  he  was  released.  He  proceeded 
immediately  to  Paris,  and  in  March,  1810,  he  was  elected  a  cor- 
respondent of  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  of  France.  About 
the  same  time  he  received  a  passport,  dated  Paris,  March  5, 1810, 
which  authorized  him  to  embark  at  Rochelle,  on  board  of  an  Ame- 
rican ship  bound  to  Philadelphia. 

The  abdication  of  Louis  Napoleon,  and  other  political  events 
in  Europe,  determined  him  to  become  a  resident  of  this  city,  where 
he  married  in  the  year  1810. 

As  already  stated,  he  participated  in  founding  the  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences,  in  1812,  and  remained  its  President  until 
the  year  1817,  when  he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Maclure. 

He  was  engaged  in  various  manufactures,  and  about  the  year 
1815,  or  1816,  his  intimate  knowledge  of  mineralogy  and  chemis- 
try, enabled  him  to  commence  the  manufacture  of  alum,  on  the 
Magothy  River,  in  Maryland.  Previous  to  that  date,  the  entire 
quantity  required  in  the  arts,  which  is  very  considerable,  was  im- 
ported from  abroad.  This  manufacture  was  so  fully  established, 
that  since  the  year  1818,  our  own  country  has  been  able  to  supply 
the  home  demand. 

He  returned  from  Maryland  to  Philadelphia,  and  in  1821  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Mineralogy  in  the  Philadelphia  Museum, 
and  lectured  on  the  subject  in  that  institution. 

About  the  same  period,  he  was  elected  the  first  Professor  of 
Chemistry,  in  the  College  of  Pharmacy  of  Philadelphia,  but  re- 
signed the  ensuing  year,  after  having  delivered  one  course  of  lec- 
tures. 

Dr.  Troost,  in  the  year  1825,  in  company  with  Messrs  Maclure, 
Say,  Lesueur,  and  Robt.  Owen,  removed  to  New  Harmony,  In- 
diana, where  he  remained  nearly  two  years.  In  the  year  1827, 
he  settled  in  Nashville,  and  in  the  following  year,  at  the  instance 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  57 

of  Professor  Lindsley,  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Chemistry, 
Geology,  and  Mineralogy,  in  the  University  of  Nashville. 

In  the  year  1831,  he  was  appointed  Geologist  of  the  State  of 
Tennessee,  which  office  he  filled  until  it  was  abolished  in  the  year 
1849. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Troost  occurred  in  his  75th  year,  on  the  14th 
of  August,  1850.  He  left  a  reputation  for  learning,  zeal,  and 
amiability,  with  which  his  relatives  and  friends  may  well  be  satis- 
fied ;  and  it  must  be  a  gratification  to  know  that  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  was  worthy  of  the  sincere 
respect  of  every  member  of  an  institution  which  he  participated 
in  founding. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  University 
of  Nashville  was  held,  August  15,  1850,  and  adopted  the  follow- 
ing resolutions: — 

Resolved,  That  by  the  death  of  the  venerable,  learned,  and 
accomplished  PROFESSOR  TROOST,  the  University  has  been  de- 
prived of  one  of  its  most  useful  and  exemplary  instructors — the 
Country  of  one  of  its  most  gifted  citizens — and  Science  of  one  of 
its  most  faithful  votaries. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  family  of  the 
deceased,  and  tender  to  the  mourning  widow  and  children  the 
assurance  of  our  heartfelt  sense  of  their  irreparable  bereavement. 

Resolved^  That  as  a  token  of  respect,  we  wear  the  usual  badge 
of  mourning  for  thirty  days,  and  that  we  attend  the  funeral  of  the 


Resolved^  That  these  proceedings  be  published,  and  that  a  copy 
thereof  be  communicated  by  the  Secretary  to  Mrs.  Troost. 

PHILIP  LINDSLEY, 
President  of  the  University,  and  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

For  a  portrait  of  Dr.  Troost,  the  Academy  is  indebted  to  the 
liberality  of  Thomas  E.  Yeatman,  Esq.,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

The  success  of  the  Institution  is  so  largely  indebted  to  the  gene- 
rosity of  its  second  President,  Wm.  Maclure,  that  it  might  be 
neglect  to  pass  him  unnoticed  in  thi§  place. 

Mr.  Maclure  was  born  in  Scotland,  in  the  year  1763,  and  died 
in  Mexico,  in  March,  1840.  He  first  visited  the  United  States 
about  the  year  1782,  and  soon  afterwards  commenced  a  successful 
career  of  commercial  enterprise  in  London.  He  again  visited 
America  in  the  year  1796,  but  returned  to  England  in  1803,  as 


58  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

one  of  the  commissioners  to  settle  the  claims  of  American  citizens 
on  the  Government  of  France,  for  spoliations  committed  during 
the  revolution  in  that  country. 

On  his  return,  he  made  a  geological  survey  of  the  United  States, 
a  description  of  which  was  published  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society.  This  work,  which  proves  Mr. 
Maclure  to  have  been  the  pioneer  of  American  Geology,  is  dated 
January  20,  1809. 

On  the  6th  June,  1812,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences,  and  on  the  30th  December,  1817,  he  was 
elected  President,  "to  which  office  of  confidence  and  honor  he 
was  annually  re-elected  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  a  period  of 
more  than  twenty-two  years."* 

Mr.  Maclure  was  eminently  philanthropic  and  benevolent,  and 
expended  very  largely  of  his  vast  possessions  for  the  general  bene- 
fit of  mankind.  He  believed  that  knowledge  and  intelligence  are 
the  true  sources  of  human  happiness  and  well-being  ;  and,  acting 
on  this  creed,  he  was  ever  ready  to  encourage  and  foster  institutions 
for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge.  He  entertained  the  idea  of  setting 
up  a  great  school  or  university,  in  which  every  branch  of  natural 
science  was  to  have  been  taught.  With  this  view,  he  selected  New 
Harmony,  Indiana,  as  the  centre  of  his  labors,  and,  in  1825,  in- 
duced Dr.  Troost,  and  Messrs.  Say  and  Lesueur  to  join  him  in 
the  enterprise.!  The  scheme  failed,  and  in  1827,  Mr.  Maclure, 
in  pursuit  of  health  and  science,  visited  Mexico,  and  subsequently 
returned  there,  and  died  on  his  way  home. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  Mr.  Maclure's  philanthropy  induced 
him  to  visit  countries  while  in  a  state  of  political  revolution,  that 
he  might  be  near  to  extend  assistance  to  the  poor  and  suffering. 

With  this  motive,  and  also  to  take  advantage  of  any  circum- 
stances which  might  occur  favorable  to  the  advancement  of  his 
peculiar  object,  which  was  to  educate  all  mankind,  he  visited,  at 
different  periods  of  his  life,  France,  Spain,  and  Mexico,  when 
those  states  were  in  a  condition  of  political  convulsion.  He  loved 
the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  because  its  objects  are  in  har- 
lony  with  his  views  of  benevolence  and  the  universal  diffusion  of 


&c      gil  ilUam  Maclure>  Es(l->  by  Samuel  George  Morton,  M.  D.f 

TIadUre  ma^6  ^  exPeriment  firs*  by  establishing  a  school  on 
Lane,  near  Germantown. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  59 

knowledge,  and  also  because  he  was  attached  to  the  study  of 
natural  science  for  its  own  sake. 

Besides  his  numerous  donations  to  the  Library  and  Museum,  he 
gave,  at  different  times  in  the  course  of  his  life,  to  the  funds  of 
the  Society,  and  towards  building  the  present  hall,  an  aggregate 
exceeding  $25,000;  and  thus  he  made  the  Institution  a  cenotaph 
to  himself,  which  will  carry  his  name  further  into  the  future  than 
any  monumental  marble  that  twice  the  sum  would  purchase.  To 
his  munificence  and  labors  during  the  early  period  of  the  Society's 
history,  the  Academy  is  greatly  indebted  for  its  present  existence 
and  prosperous  condition.  In  the  year  1841,  the  Society  pub- 
lished an  interesting  Memoir  of  Mr.  Maclure,  written  by  our  late 
President,  the  lamented  Samuel  George  Morton,  to  which  the 
reader  is  respectfully  referred,  for  a  full  account  of  this  remark- 
able man. 

Mr.  Maclure  was  succeeded  in  the  presidency  of  the  Academy 
(December,  1840,)  by  William  Hembel,  Esq.,  who  became  a 
member  of  the  Society  in  the  year  1825. 

Mr.  Hembel  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  24th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1764,  and  was  educated  in  this  city.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  years,  an  attack  of  scarlet  fever  left  him  with  impaired 
hearing ;  and,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  discover  a  remedy  for 
his  infirmity,  he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  about  the 
year  1781.  But,  believing  that  his  defective  hearing  would  in  a 
great  measure  disqualify  him  for  the  practice  of  the  profession, 
he  abandoned  the  idea  of  graduating,  though  often  urged  to  re- 
ceive a  degree  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  by  his 
friends,  several  of  whom  were  professors  in  that  institution.  He 
was  ardently  attached  to  the  study  of  medicine,  and,  to  gratify 
his  taste,  he  served  with  a  portion  of  the  army  of  the  Revolution 
in  Virginia,  as  a  volunteer  assistant  in  the  medical  department. 
Though  he  had  not  graduated,  he  practised  medicine  gratuitously 
for  many  years  in  this  city;  and  not  only  gave  advice  and  atten- 
tion to  the  poor,  but  furnished  them  medicines  at  his  own  expense. 
I  am  assured,  by  one  who  knew  him  well,  that  Mr.  Hembel  spent 
$500  in  a  year  for  remedies  prescribed  by  himself  for  the  indigent 
sick  who  applied  to  him  for  aid.  When  advanced  in  age,  especi- 
ally, a  very  considerable  number  of  female  patients  resorted  to 
him  for  advice,  confident  that  his  age,  and  experience,  and  learn- 
ing, enabled  him  to  afford  them  relief  with  more  certainty  than 
a  younger  practitioner.  With  his  patients,  he  bore  the  title  of 


(JO  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

doctor  ;  but  his  integrity  placed  him  above  assuming  to  himself 
anything  to  which  he  was  not  justly  entitled. 

When  epidemics  prevailed,  the  poor  and  suffering  always  found 
in  him  a  friend,  ever  ready  to  attend  to  them  and  relieve  their 
sufferings. 

Up  to  a  late  period  of  life,  he  purchased  almost  every  newly 
published  volume  on  medical  science,  to  the  study  of  which  he 
was  much  attached ;  and  at  his  death  he  left  one  of  the  most 
extensive  private  medical  libraries  in  this  city.  But  he  delighted 
most  in  the  study  and  cultivation  of  chemical  science. 

Advanced  age  and  infirmity  induced  him  to  decline  re-election 
to  the  office  of  President  of  the  Academy,  in  December,  1849, 
an  office  he  occupied  during  nine  years.  He  died  on  the  12th  of 
June,  1851,  in  the  87th  year  of  his  age. 

Mr.  Hembel  was  a  philanthropist,  eminently  benevolent, 
very  sensitive,  and  of  a  modest,  retiring  disposition,  which  his 
infirmity  of  hearing  led  him  to  indulge.  His  literary  and  scien- 
tific acquirements  were  of  a  high  order,  and  secured  for  him  the 
respect  of  learned  men.  In  him  this  Society  lost  a  liberal  patron, 
the  community  an  excellent  citizen,  and  the  poor  a  devoted 
friend. 

When  his  decease  was  announced  at  a  meeting  of  the  Society 
(June  17th,  1851),  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions,  sub- 
mitted by  Mr.  Ord,  were  unanimously  adopted : — 

"  The  Academy,  deeply  sensible  of  the  death  of  their  vene- 
rable member,  are  impelled  by  a  sense  of  duty,  to  give  formal 
expression  of  their  sorrow  at  the  loss  of  one  who,  during  the 
period  of  twenty-six  years,  was  zealously  active  in  his  exertions, 
to  advance  those  branches  of  knowledge  for  the  cultivation  of 
which  this  Institution  was  created  :  It  is,  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  the  Academy,  in  mourning  the  departure  of 
a  friend  whose  long  life  was  signalized  by  his  devotion  to  scien- 
tific pursuits,  derive  consolation  from  the  reflection  that  their 
steadfast  benefactor  was  as  conspicuous  for  his  efficient  benevo- 
lence, as  for  his  integrity  and  social  virtues. 

"Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  be  transmitted  to  the 
family  of  the  deceased."* 

Dr.  Samuel  George  Morton  was  our  fourth  President. 

Dr.  Morton  was  born  in  Philadelphia  on  the  26th  of  January, 

*  Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences.    Vol.  5,  p.  213. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATUKAL  SCIENCES.  61 

1799.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Academy  in  April,  1820, 
and  very  soon  after  went  to  Europe.  He  returned  in  1826,  and 
from  that  time,  until  within  a  few  days  of  his  death,  he  labored 
industriously  and  continuously  in  the  halls  of  the  Academy,  to 
acquire*  facts  and  to  publish  them  to  the  world.  In  December, 
1849,  he  was  unanimously  elected  President  of  the  Institution  ; 
but  in  the  very  height  of  his  usefulness  and  fame,  death  sud- 
denly removed  him  from  among  us,  on  the  15th  of  May,  1851, 
in  the  52d  year  of  his  age. 

The  eloquent  eulogy  pronounced  upon  him  by  a  fellow-member, 
Dr.  Meigs,  is  fresh  in  the  memories  of  all;*  it  renders  this  brief 
allusion  to  the  most  distinguished  of  our  deceased  Presidents 
sufficient  to  complete  the  notice  of  all  who  have  served  the 
Academy  up  to  this  time,  in  the  highest  office  within  its  gift. 

The  second  period  of  the  history  of  the  Academy  now  claims 
attention. 

Soon  after  the  Museum  was  arranged  in  the  new  hall  in  Gil- 
Hams  Court,  Arch  Street,  Mr.  John  Shinn  delivered  a  course  of 
popular  lectures  on  chemistry,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Society ; 
Dr.  Waterhouse  lectured  on  ichthyology,  and  Dr.  Troost  on 
mineralogy,  before  the  Academy.  During  the  year  1816,  a 
constitution  was  adopted,  and  in  December  Messrs.  Mathias 
Morris,  Zaccheus  Collins,  and  Dr.  R.  M.  Patterson  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  apply  to  the  Legislature  of  Pennsyl- 
vania for  an  act  to  incorporate  the  Society,  which  was  obtained, 
and  is  dated  March  24,  1817.  This  committee  received  consi- 
derable aid  from  Benjamin  R.  Morgan,  Esq.,  John  Reed,  Esq., 
and  John  M.  Scott,  Esq.,  in  procuring  the  act  of  incorporation ; 
and  the  Society  acknowledged  their  services  in  a  series  of  reso- 
lutions adopted  on  the  15th  of  July. 

At  the  instance  of  Mr.  Maclure,  a  committee  was  appointed  on 
the  4th  February,  1817,  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  pub- 
lishing a  periodical  journal  of  the  transactions  of  the  Society. 
This  committee  consisted  of  Mr.  Maclure  (chairman)  and  Messrs. 
Z.  Collins,  T.  Say,  R.  Haines,  and  S.  Hazard ;  they  reported  in 
favor  of  publication,  on  the  4th  of  March,  but  the  report  was 
not  adopted  until  the  llth.  It  was  feared  that  a  periodical 

*  A  Memoir  of  Samuel  George  Morton,  M.  D.,  Late  President  of  the 
Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia.  By  Charles  D.  Meigs,  M.  D. 
Read  November  6,  1851,  and  published  by  direction  of  the  Academy. 
Philadelphia  :  T.  K.  &  P.  G.  Collins,  Printers,  1851,  pp.  48. 


(52  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

devoted  exclusively  to  science  would  find  too  few  patrons  ^  to 
defray  the  expense  of  printing,  and  for  this  reason  it  was  antici- 
pated by  some  that  the  entire  cost  of  publication  would  fall  upon 
the  treasury  of  the  Academy,  which  had  been  empty  for  a  con- 
siderable time.  But  Mr.  Maclure  zealously  urged  the  advantages 
which  would  inure  to  the  Institution  from  a  publication  designed 
to  make  known  to  the  world  the  labors  and  discoveries  in  natural 
science  by  members  of  the  Academy.  He  himself  was  so  confi- 
dent of  the  success  of  the  measure,  that  he  inspired  hope  in  those 
who  regarded  the  undertaking  despondingly  or  in  coldness.  The 
first  number  of  a  journal  was  laid  before  a  meeting  of  the 
Society  on  the  20th  of  May,  1817.  It  contains  a  description  of 
six  new  species  of  Firola  (with  a  plate),  by  0.  A.  Lesueur  ;  an 
account  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  (Ovis  montana)*  by  George 
Ord ;  and  a  "  Description  of  seven  species  of  American  Fresh 
Water  and  Land  Shells,  not  noticed  in  the  systems.  By  Thomas 
Say." 

The  first  committee  of  publication  consisted  of  Messrs.  Ma- 
clure, T.  Say,  G.  Ord,  R.  Haines,  T.  Nuttall,  J.  Dulles,  Dr. 
Cooper,  and  Dr.  R.  M.  Patterson. 

The  "Introduction"  presented  with  this  first  number  of  the 
Journal,  exhibits  the  spirit  which  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Insti- 
tution, a  spirit  which  has  predominated  in  all  its  efforts  from  the 
beginning,  and  it  will  continue  to  prevail,  if  past  conduct  be  re- 
garded as  a  guarantee  in  any  degree  of  future  action.  I  invite 
attention  to  this  Introduction,  because  it  applies  at  the  present 
time,  although  nearly  thirty-five  years  have  elapsed  since  it  was 
printed. 

"  The  members  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  of  Phila- 
delphia, desirous  of  acquiring  knowledge  themselves,  and  ex- 
tending it  among  their  fellow-citizens,  have  for  some  years  been 
accustomed  to  meet  at  leisure  hours,  for  the  purpose  of  commu- 
nicating to  each  other  such  facts  and  observations  as  are  calcu- 
lated to  promote  the  views  of  the  Society.  By  degrees,  a  collec- 
tion of  subjects  in  natural  history  was  made,  and  has  increased, 

*  Richardson,  in  his  "  Fauna-Boriali  Americana"  (London,  1829)  de- 
scribed the  same  animal  under  the  name  of  Gapra  Americana.  A  fine  male 
specimen  of  the  rare  quadruped,  the  Bighorn  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  (his 
tnontana,  Desmarest,  has  been  recently  presented  to  the  Academy  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institute,  through  Professor  Baird 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  63 

until  a  Museum  has  been  formed,  which  is  already  very  valuable, 
and  which  is  daily  increasing. 

"  In  further  pursuance  of  the  objects  of  their  Institution,  the 
Society  have  now  determined  to  communicate  to  the  public  such 
facts  and  observations  as,  having  appeared  interesting  to  them, 
are  likely  to  be  interesting  to  other  friends  of  natural  science. 
They  do  not  profess  to  make  any  periodical  communication  ;  but 
well  knowing  how  desirable  it  is  that  persons  engaged  in  similar 
pursuits  should  be  made  acquainted,  as  early  as  possible,  with 
what  has  been  done  by  their  fellow-laborers  in  the  fields  of  science 
elsewhere,  they  mean  to  publish  a  few  pages  whenever  it  appears 
to  them  that  materials  worthy  of  publication  have  been  put  into 
their  possession.  In  so  doing,  they  propose  to  exclude  entirely 
all  papers  of  mere  theory — to  confine  their  communications,  as 
much  as  possible,  to  facts — and,  by  abridging  papers  too  long  for 
publication  in  their  original  state,  to  present  the  facts  thus  pub- 
lished, clothed  in  as  few  words  as  are  consistent  with  perspicuous 
description. 

"  Well  aware  that  much  leisure  and  superfluous  wealth  are  not 
always  found  in  company  with  an  ardent  love  of  science,  they 
mean  their  proposed  publication  to  be  as  cheap,  and  as  unosten- 
tatious, as  the  nature  of  the  subjects  will  admit ;  so  that  it  need 
not  encroach  unnecessarily  on  the  funds  of  the  Society,  or  of 
those  who  may  wish  to  purchase  it.  In  short,  they  are  desirous 
of  contributing  their  share  to  the  mass  of  knowledge,  as  early, 
in  all  cases,  and  with  as  little  show,  and  as  small  expense  as  pos- 
sible. The  present  publication  will  be  a  specimen  of  what  they 
propose  in  future. 

"  They  invite  the  lovers  of  science  generally,  and  particularly 
all  those  who  are  anxious  for  its  encouragement  in  the  United 
States,  to  aid  in  promoting  the  objects  of  this  Institution,  and  to 
encourage  the  present  publication,  so  long  as  the  contents  of  it 
shall  prove  deserving  of  public  approbation." 

The  first  half  of  the  first  volume  was  "  printed  for  the  Society 
by  D.  Heartt;"  and  the  numbers  appeared  monthly,  or  nearly 
so ;  but  before  the  close  of  the  year  it  was  found  that  the  demand 
for  this  publication  was  not  adequate  to  pay  the  expenses  of 
printing.  To  meet  the  difficulty  in  a  degree,  Mr.  Maclure  supplied 
types  and  a  much  worn  printing  press,  and  afforded  facilities  at 
his  own  house  to  continue  the  work.  A  compositor  and  a  press- 
man, both  young,  were  employed,  and  several  members  of  the 


64.  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

publishing  committee  aided  them  in  the  work,  as  well  as  they 
knew  how,  and  it  is  traditionary  that  Mr.  Say  attempted  on 
eeveral  occasions  to  set  types,  but  with  very  moderate  success. 
Mr.  Ord,  anxious  to  forward  the  publication,  translated  or  rather 
prepared  the  papers  of  M.  Lesueur  from  materials  furnished  by 
him,  as  that  gentleman,  who  immigrated  from  France  in  1816, 
possessed  very  little  knowledge  of  the  English  language.  By 
such  irregular  means  nearly  all  of  the  second  half  of  the  first 
volume  was  produced.  In  spite  of  such  zeal  and  unusual  labor, 
the  Journal  paused  for  want  of  money,  before  the  close  of  1818 ; 
and  it  was  not  again  resumed  until  1821,  when  Dr.  Isaac  Hays 
undertook  its  management,  and  through  his  efforts  the  publication 
continued  till  the  close  of  1825,  without  incurring  any  new  debt. 
The  printing  was  done  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Jesper  Harding. 

The  establishment  of  this  journal,  and  its  maintenance,  are 
due  chiefly  to  the  efforts  of  the  Publication  Committees,  some 
members  of  which,  as  already  stated,  assisted  at  the  press  ;  but  to 
Dr.  Isaac  Hays  especially,  we  owe  acknowledgments  for  his  in- 
dustry, zealous  perseverance,  and  success,  in  reviving  and  sustain- 
ing the  journal  through  many  trials  and  pecuniary  difficulties.* 

The  Journal  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  thus  began, 
continued  to  be  published  at  irregular  intervals,  a  number  being 
issued  whenever  sufficient  material  was  furnished  to  make  it  up, 
until  1842,  a  period  of  twenty-five  years. 

*  The  Publication  Committees,  after  the  first,  above  named,  were  as  fol- 
lows : — 

1818.    George  Ord ;  Thomas  Say. 

(In  the  year  1819  the  publication  was  suspended  for  want  of  money.) 

1821.    T.  Say,  T.  Nuttall,  Jos.  Dulles,  Dr.  Isaac  Hays,  Isaac  Lea. 

322.    T.  Say,  T.  Nuttall,  Dr.  Isaac  Hays,  Isaac  Lea,  Dr.  R.  E.  Griffith. 
1823.    T.  Say,  Dr.  Hays,  Isaac  Lea,  Dr.  R.  E.  Griffith,  W.  H.  Keating. 

This  committee  continued  without  change  till 
1826.    Dr.  S.  G.  Morton,  J.  P.  Wetherill,  Dr.  W.  Wetherill,  J.  P.  Smith, 

Dr.  R.  Harlan. 
1830.    Dr.  S.  G.  Morton,  Dr.  T.  M'Euen,  S.  W.  Conrad,  Dr.  C.  Pickering, 

I.  Lukens. 
1834.    Dr.  Thos.  M'Euen,  C.  A.  Poulson,  Dr.  A.  L.  Elwyn    Dr  T.  F. 

Betton,  W.  P.  Gibbons. 
1837.     Dr.  Thos.  M'Euen,  Dr.  A.  L.  Elwyn,  W.  R.  Johnson,  Dr.  J.  Carson, 

Dr.  Ed.  Hallowell. 
1839.    Dr  Elwyn,  Dr.  Carson,  Dr.  R.  Bridges,  Dr.  Ed.  Hallowell,  T.  A. 

Conrad. 
1841.    Dr  Elwyn,  Dr.  Hallowell,  W.  S.  Vaux,  J.  S.  Phillips,  Dr.  W.  S. 

Zantzinger. 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES. 


65 


The  first  series  of  the  Journal  consists  of  eight  octavo  volumes, 
each  divided  into  two  parts,  forming  an  aggregate  of  2,912  pages, 
illustrated  by  161  plates.  This  series  contains  237  papers  or 
articles,  describing  objects  new  to  naturalists  at  the  time  of  pub- 
lication, which  are  written  in  a  brief  and  technical  manner,  be- 
cause they  were  designed  to  inform  the  scientific.  The  whole  of 
these  papers  were  contributed  by  fifty-six  authors,  a  list  of  whom 
is  appended,  as  follows  : — 


No.  of  articles 
Name  of  Author.         furnished. 

1.  Audubo'n,  J.  J.  J 

2.  Bache,  A.  D.  1  J 

3.  Bachman,  Rev.  John    5  J 

4.  Bigsby,  J.  J.  1 

5.  Bonaparte,  Chas.  9 

6.  Bowen,  George  T.  2 

7.  Coates,  B.  H.  1 

8.  Coates,  Reynell  3 

9.  Conrad,  S.  W.  4 

10.  Conrad,  T.  A.  11 

11.  Dietz,  R.  1 

12.  Elliot,  Stephen  1 

13.  G-reen,  Jacob  4  J 

14.  Gilliams,  Jacob  2 

15.  G-odman,  John  Z>.  2 

16.  Homer,  W.  E.  1 

17.  Haldeman,  S.  S.  4 

18.  Hallowell,  Edward  3 

19.  Hare,  Robt.  1 

20.  Harlan,  R.  22 

21.  Harris,  T.  W.  1 

22.  Hentz,  N.  M.  2 

23.  James,  Edwin  2 

24.  Jessup,  Augustus  E.  1 

25.  Johnson,  W.  R.  6 

26.  Keating,  W.  S.  2  \  \ 

27.  Lea,  Isaac  1 

28.  Leib,  Geo.  C.  1 


No.  of  articles 
Name  of  Author.          furnished. 

29.  Lesueur,  C.  A.         31 

30.  M'Euen,  Thos.  1 

31.  Maclure,  Wm.  2 
82.  Michener,  Ezra  1 

33.  Mitchell,  Saml.  L.     1 

34.  Morton,  Saml  Geo.  10 

35.  Nuttall,  Thos.  12 

36.  Ord,  George  5  J  £ 

37.  Peale,  T.  R.  J 

38.  Phillips,  John  S.         1 

39.  Poeppig,  Edwardo      1 

40.  Rafinesque,  C.  iS.       1 

41.  Randall,  J.  W.  1 

42.  Ravenel,  Edmund       1 

43.  Rhea,  M.  1 

44.  Rogers,  H.  D.  £ 

45.  Say,  Thos.  32  i  f 

46.  Schweinitz,Rev.L.D.2 

47.  Seybert,  H.  1 

48.  Townsend,  J.  K.        5 

49.  Troost,  Gerard        10 

50.  Trudeau,  Jas.  2 

51.  Vanuxem,  Lardner  10  J  £ 

52.  Vaux,  Roberts  % 

53.  Wagner,  Wm.  1 

54.  Wood,  Wm.  W.          2 

55.  Worth,  James  1 

56.  Zantzinger,  Wm.  S.   1 


The  fraction  indicates  joint  authorship  in  an  article.     The 
names  printed  in  italics  are  of  those  known  to  be  deceased. 
5 


66  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

The  year  1817  was  eventful  in  the  history  of  the  Academy. 
A  charter  was  obtained,  which  gave  the  Institution  a  legal  exist- 
ence ;  and  the  publication  of  the  Journal  was  commenced,  which  was 
the  means  of  opening  intercourse  with  learned  societies  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  making  known  our  own  existence.  An  exchange 
of  Journals,  first  with  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  and  sub- 
sequently with  other  learned  societies,  was  begun  and  has  been  con- 
tinued to  the  present  time,  when  the  publications  of  the  Academy 
are  exchanged  with  twelve  societies  within  the  Union,  and  thirty- 
four  beyond  its  limits,  in  America,  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa. 
No  one  act  of  the  Academy  has  contributed  so  much  to  its  pros- 
perity as  the  publication  of  this  Journal. 

In  November  of  this  year,  the  Academy  appointed  for  the  first 
time,  Standing  Committees  on  Zoology,  Botany,  Mineralogy,  and 
Geology. 

The  progress  of  the  Academy  was  not  very  rapid ;  yet,  at  the 
close  of  1820,  the  question  of  enlarged  accommodation  once  more 
presented  itself  for  consideration.  The  Institution  had  sprung 
from  inconsiderable  beginnings,  and  pursued  its  objects  in  a  re- 
tired and  unpretending  manner,  and  now  in  the  eighth  year  of 
its  existence,  was  favorably  recognized  by  the  friends  of  natural 
science,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  At  that  time  it  numbered 
about  100  members  and  190  correspondents. 

In  the  year  1823,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  the 
best  means  of  obtaining  better  accommodations.  On  the  25th  of 
January,  1825,  that  committee  was  discharged  and  another  ap- 
pointed, consisting  of  Isaac  Hays,  M.  D.,  Wm.  Mason  Walmsley, 
William  Strickland,  William  S.  Warder,  Samuel  Greo.  Morton, 
M.D.,  and  Roberts  Vaux.  This  committee  was  continued,  and 
finally  succeeded  in  establishing  the  Society  in  new  quarters. 

On  the  3d  of  January,  1826,  the  Society  purchased  a  lot  of 
ground  and  building  at  the  south-east  corner  of  Twelfth  and 
George  Streets,  for  the  sum  of  $4,300.  It  had  been  originally 
designed,  and  was  used  as  a  place  of  religious  worship  for  several 
years  by  a  society  of  Swedenborgians ;  and,  to  fit  it  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Academy,  an  expenditure  of  $1,700  was  required, 
making  the  aggregate  cost  about  $6,000.  This  sum  was  made  up 
of  donations  from  members,  to  the  amount  of  more  than  $2,000, 
the  balance  being  loaned  by  a  few  members  and  others.  A  debt  of 
$3,000  was  thus  created,  and  up  to  August  1837,  only  $300  of 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  67 

the  amount  had  been  paid  off.  At  that  time,  Mr.  Maclure  with 
his  characteristic  liberality,  presented  the  Institution  with  five 
thousand  dollars.  The  debt  was  forthwith  liquidated,  and  $2,300 
placed  at  interest  for  the  use  of  the  Society. 

The  purchase  of  this  property  was  opposed  by  some  few  of  the 
members,  who  urged  that  its  situation  was  too  remote,  and  that 
in  winter  it  would  be  scarcely  accessible  to  a  majority.  And  Mr. 
Maclure,  when  first  called  upon  to  contribute  towards  the  purchase, 
declined  on  the  ground  that,  though  the  property  was  at  a  moder- 
ate price,  it  would  never  increase  in  value.  He  urged  that  "  the 
community  system"  must  prevail  in  the  course  of  a  few  years, 
and  then  Philadelphia  would  be  deserted,  and  those  who  might 
live  long  enough  would  "  see  the  foxes  looking  out  at  the  win- 
dows." But,  finding  his  arguments  did  not  prevail,  he  subscribed 
several  hundred  dollars. 

The  Academy  met  in  that  hall  for  the  first  time  on  the  9th  of 
May,  1826.  The  edifice  commonly  called  the  "  New  Jerusalem 
Church,"  was  forty-four  by  fifty  feet,  and  surmounted  by  a  dome; 
the  lot  of  ground  on  which  it  stood  was  ninety-nine  by  forty- 
five  feet.  There  is  a  representation  of  the  old  hall  on  the  title 
page  of  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Journal. 

To  render  the  Museum  extensively  useful,  and  to  diffuse  a  love 
of  science,  the  Academy  opened  it  to  the  public  gratuitously  in 
1828 ;  and,  from  that  time,  it  has  been  visited  by  citizens  and 
strangers  on  Tuesday  and  Friday  afternoons  throughout  the  year, 
tickets  of  admission  being  presented  by  the  members  to  any  who 
may  apply  for  them.*  The  Legislature  of  the  State,  appreciat- 
ing the  liberality  and  usefulness  of  the  Academy,  exempted  the 
Institution  from  taxation  for  a  period  of  twenty  years  from  the 
year  1831. 

Here  the  collections  of  the  Academy  continued  to  increase? 
the  zeal  of  the  members  was  unabated.  In  the  year  1837, 
there  was  again  a  demand  for  increased  accommodation,  which 
must  be  regarded  as  positive  evidence  of  prosperity. 

On  the  22d  of  April,  1839,  the  Society  purchased  the  lot  at 

*  During  a  considerable  period,  admission  to  the  Museum  was  without 
any  restriction  whatever  on  the  public  days ;  but  finding  that  it  became  a 
resort  for  young  children,  who  frequently  damaged  the  cases  and  collec- 
tions, it  was  determined  to  exclude  all  who  were  not  provided  with  tickets, 
which  could  always  be  procured  on  application  to  members. 


fig  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

the  north-west  corner  of  Broad  and  George  Street  for  the  sum  of 
mm,  and  on  the  25th  of  May,  the  corner  stone  of  the  pre- 
sent' edifice  was  laid  with  the  usual  ceremonies.  On  the  occa- 
on  Professor  Walter  B.  Johnson  delivered  an  eloquent  and 
appropriate  address,  which  was  published  by  order  of  the  Society 
The  value  of  the  premises  at  the  corner  of  Twelfth  and  George 
Streets  had  appreciated  very  much,  but  the  means  of  erecting  this 
hall  were  chiefly  derived  from  William  Maclure  who  subscribed 
towards  this  desirable  object  twenty  thousand  dollars.  Seven- 
teen thousand  dollars  were  reserved  as  a  building  fund,  which 
was  largely  augmented  by  liberal  donations  from  members  and 
others  interested  in  the  cause  of  science. 

The  Society  held  its  first  meeting  in  this  hall,  on  the  7th  ol 
February,  1840,  and  from  that  date  to  the  present  the  prosperity 
of  the  Academy  has  continued.     At  no  period  of  its  history  has 
its  progress  been  more  rapid  than  during  the  past  ten  years;  but 
still  the  work  is  incomplete,  and  demands  now  greater  exertions 
and  more  encouragement  from  the  friends  of  natural  science  to 
extend  its  usefulness.     Although  the  building  was  enlarged  in 
1847,  as  already  stated,  at  the  expense  of  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  there 
is  not  now  sufficient  space  in  it  for  the  proper  exhibition  of  the 
Museum  and  Library,  in  both  of  which  there  are  numerous  defi- 
ciencies.    At  this  time,  there  is  a  proposition  under  considera- 
tion to  raise  the  building  fifteen  feet  higher  ;   and  thus  obtain  a 
room  one  hundred  and  ten  by  forty-two  feet,  for  the  display  of 
Wilson's  unrivalled  collection  of  birds,  which  is  now  too  much 
crowded  for  convenient  study  and  reference.     Should  the  liber- 
ality of  our  fellow-citizens  and  members  enable  us  to  make  this 
addition,  we  shall  be,  for  a  short  time  at  least,  better  accommo- 
dated. 

In  March,  1841,  the  Society  commenced  the  publication  of  the 
"Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadel- 
phia," a  number  being  issued  every  two  months,  and  furnished  to 
subscribers  at  one  dollar  a  year.  This  periodicakcontains  a  record 
of  the  meetings  of  the  Academy,  which  are  held  every  Tuesday 
evening.  Strangers  may  be  present,  except  at  the  last  meeting 
in  each  month,  which  is  reserved  for  the  private  business  of  the 
Institution.  The  other  or  ordinary  meetings  are  devoted  to  the 
reading  of  scientific  papers,  verbal  communications,  the  reception 
of  donations,  &c.  &c.,  all  of  which  are  appropriately  stated  in  the 
"Proceedings." 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  69 

A  second  series  of  the  Journal  of  the  Academy  was  commenced 
in  December,  1847.  It  is  in  quarto  form,  and  is  furnished  to  sub- 
scribers at  one  dollar  and  a  half  the  number.  Six  numbers  have 
been  published;  four  of  which  constitute  a  volume.  This  new 
series  embraces  at  this  time  forty-five  articles  by  twenty  authors, 
with  fifty-nine  handsome  plates  or  illustrations;  the  aggregate 
consists  of  five  hundred  and  forty  quarto  pages : — 

Authors.         No.  of  articles.  Authors.        No.  of  articles. 

S.  F.  Baird,  1  Charles  D.  Meigs,        1 

John  Cassin,  9  Samuel  Geo.  Morton,  1 

J.  L.  Le  Conte,  5  Thomas  Nuttall,           1 

T.  A.  Conra.d,  5  D.  D.  Owen,                1 1 1 

James  Deane,  1  Richard  Owen,             1 

William  Gambel,  3  B.  F.  Shumard,            1 J 

Robert  W.  Gibbes,  4  Richard  C.  Taylor,      1 

S.  S.  Haldeman,  2  M.  Tuomey,    '             1 

Isaac  Lea,  '  1  J.  K.  Townsend,          1 

Joseph  Leidy,  4  S.  W.  Woodhouse,       1 

The  fractions  indicate  joint  authorship  of  an  article. 

The  authors  of  contributions  receive  no  remuneration  for  their 
labors.  These  periodicals  are  sustained  by  subscription,  assisted 
by  a  legacy  from  the  late  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Stott.  She  bequeathed 
two  thousand  dollars,  to  be  securely  invested,  and  the  interest  to 
be  expended  in  "  printing  and  publishing  such  papers  communi- 
cated to  the  Academy,  as  it  may  direct,"  to  be  published.  It  is 
expended  exclusively  on  the  Journal. 

As  already  stated,  the  founders  of  the  Institution  were  seven 
in  number.  Since  the  16th  of  April,  1812,  when  the  first  election 
took  place,  up  to  the  31st  of  December,  1851,  420  gentlemen  and 
1  lady  have  been  elected  members,  making  an  aggregate  of  428. 
Of  this  number  112  became  "life  members,"  38  of  whom  are 
known  to  be  deceased ;  so  that  there  are  74  members  at  this  time 
exempt  from  the  payment  of  annual  contributions.  Of  the  317 
ordinary  members,  46  are  known  to  have  deceased ;  many  have 
removed  from  the  city,  some  have  resigned,  and  a  few  have  been 
erased  from  the  list  of  members.  The  books  of  the  treasurer 
show  that,  in  the  year  1861,  there  were  only  69  annual  sub- 
scribers ;  so  that  at  this  time,  the  number  of  members  does  not 
probably  exceed  200. 

From  the  formation  of  the  Society  up  to  December  31,  1851, 


1Q  A  NOTICE  OF  THE 

306  persons,  resident  within  the  United  States,  but  not  of  this 
city,  and  277  persons  resident  in  foreign  countries,  or  an  aggre- 
gate of  583,  have  been  elected  correspondents.  Of  this  number, 
98  are  known  to  be  deceased.  The  number  of  correspondents  at 
this  time  does  not  probably  exceed  450. 

Supposing  that  every  member  and  every  correspondent  elected 
has  done  something  to  advance  the  Institution,  its  present  con- 
dition is  due,  on  the  most  liberal  estimate,  to  the  joint  liberality 
and  labors  of  not  more  than  one  thousand  individuals,  in  all  parts 
of  the  world,  in  the  course  of  forty  years.  In  that  period,  the 
population  of  Philadelphia  has  increased  from  less  than  one  hun- 
dred, to  more  than  four  hundred  thousand  ;  yet  from  this  great 
number  of  people,  in  all  that  time,  only  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  citizens  of  Philadelphia  have  become  members,  and  con- 
tributed to  the  advancement  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences, 
an  institution  for  the  acquisition  and  diffusion  of  knowledge, 
second  to  none  in  this  city  or  State. 

The  Institution  is  supported  exclusively  by  donations,  and  the 
annual  contributions  of  its  members,  of  whom  very  few  possess 
superfluous  means.  It  owns  no  domain  yielding  revenue ;  yet, 
in  spite  of  a  mortgage  debt  on  the  building  of  eleven  thousand 
dollars,  it  has  thus  far  lived,  and  almost  flourished,  on  means 
afforded  by  the  generous  who  are  lovers  of  science.  Debt  is  no 
less  baneful  to  the  prosperity  of  institutions  than  of  individuals  ; 
until  this  mortgage  be  considerably  reduced,  or  entirely  paid 
off,  the  legitimate  income  of  the  Society  exclusively,  is  not  more 
than  sufficient  to  defray  the  cost  of  warming  and  lighting  the 
building,  and  of  preserving  the  library  and  collections  from  in- 
jury and  loss.  The  most  careful  management  of  its  fiscal  affairs 
now,  is  essential  to  the  continuous  success  of  the  Academy ;  but 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is  at  this  moment  a  pressing 
demand  for  increased  accommodation,  to  advantageously  arrange 
and  display  the  collections,  several  of  which  are  not  accessible 
to  the  public,  or  even  readily  to  members,  for  want  of  space 
to  exhibit  them:  besides,  the  preservation  of  zoological  specimens 
is  rendered,  difficult  by  crowding  them  together. 

What  length  of  time  must  elapse  before  this  serious  obstacle 
to  the  advancement  of  the  Society  will  be  removed,  it  is  not  easy 
to  conjecture.  But  it  is  hoped  that  in  this  great  and  wealthy 
population,  there  will  be  found  a  sufficient  number  of  liberal,  pub- 

c-spmted  citizens,  who  will  not  permit  the  Academy  of  Natural 


ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES.  71 

Sciences  of  Philadelphia  to  languish  for  the  want  of  a  sum  of 
money,  less  than  is  sometimes  expended  in  preparing  an  ephe- 
meral pageant  of  welcome  to  a  stranger,  or  to  secure  the  election 
of  a  political  aspirant  to  some  office  of  two  or  three  years'  tenure. 

There  is  enough  in  the  past  history  of  the  Academy  and 
in  its  present  condition,  imperfect  as  it  is,  to  encourage  all  to 
labor  industriously  in  the  cause  of  science.  Even  in  its  earlier 
years,  it  had  won  the  respect  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States.  Its  archives  show  that  members  of  the  Cabinet  at  Wash- 
ington officially  invited  and  accepted  suggestions  from  the  Aca- 
demy, in  planning  Major  Long's  expedition  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  the  South  Sea  Exploring  Expedition,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Commander  Wilkes  of  the  Navy.  Members  of  the 
Institution  accompanied  both  expeditions ;  and  by  their  labors 
rendered  the  result  more  valuable  and  useful  to  the  country  than 
they  could  have  been  without  the  assistance  of  naturalists. 

Our  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  Academy  are  contributions  to  the 
cause  of  American  science,  the  advance  of  which  must  benefit 
our  city,  our  State,  and  the  whole  Union.  An  example  of  in- 
dustry now  may  stimulate  those  who  succeed  us  here,  to  perform 
what  will  reflect  back  credit  upon  us,  though  we  gain  none  for 
ourselves.  Let  us  continue  what  has  been  so  well  begun,  and 
endeavor,  each  and  all  of  us,  to  contribute  something  towards 
the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge.  Our  fellow  citizens, 
seeing  us  in  earnest  at  our  work,  will  not  fail  to  foster  and 
encourage  labors  which  have  for  their  object  the  common  interests 
of  the  people.  They  may  be  assured  that  our  Institution, 
humble  as  it  is,  has  contributed  towards  our  national  respecta- 
bility abroad ;  if  they  should  doubt  it,  show  them  how  our  museum 
and  library  assisted  our  fellow-members,  Say,  Godman,  Harlan, 
Morton,  and  others,  in  acquiring  such  an  eminent  degree  of 
learning  as  has  made  their  names,  and  consequently  that  of  their 
country,  familiar  wherever  knowledge  is  respected. 

Our  Institution  constitutes  a  record  of  the  munificence,  and 
liberality,  and  industry,  of  individuals,  who  desire  to  see  the 
laws  of  nature  ascertained  and  made  manifest  to  all ;  a  record 
upon  which  every  citizen  may  inscribe  his  name  by  contributing 
to  the  advancement  of  human  knowledge  in  any,  or  in  all  the 
branches  of  natural  science.  The  museum,  the  library,  the 
treasury,  are  all  open  to  acts  of  liberality.  The  scope  of  the 
Institution  embraces  the  establishment  of  free  lectures,  whenever 


72  A  NOTICE  OF  THE  ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES. 

the  spirit  of  generosity  may  endow  the  Academy  with  means  for 
the  purpose.  Some  of  the  founders  hoped  the  time  would  come 
when  a  botanical  garden,  as  well  as  a  zoological  garden,  would 
constitute  parts  of  the  Institution.  Their  hopes  may  yet  be 
realized ;  and  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia 
may  one  day  compare  with  the  British  Museum,  or  the  celebrated 
museum  of  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  of  Paris,  which  owe  so  much 
to  the  patronage  of  royal  governments. 

This  Institution  has  no  acknowledgments  to  make  for  patron- 
age received  from  the  political  government.  Except  only  the  Act 
of  the  Legislature  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  to  ex- 
empt the  property  occupied  by  the  Academy  from  taxation,  the 
Government  of  the  State  has  not  done  anything  to  encourage  the 
diffusion  of  knowledge  by  the  labors  of  this  Society.*  This  cir- 
cumstance may,  in  the  opinion  of  some  persons,  add  to  the  honor 
of  the  Academy ;  while  others  may  fancy  the  Legislature  would 
pursue  a  wise  policy  to  assist  an  Institution,  whose  labors  are 
manifestly  directed  towards  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  because 
it  is,  in  fact,  one  of  the  public  schools,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  which  every  citizen  may  acquire  useful  information. 

*  Extract  of  "  An  Act,  relative  to  certain  taxes  in  the  counties  of  Centre, 
Lycoming,  and  Clinton,  and  for  other  purposes." 

SECT.  2.  Whereas  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania, 
passed  the  7th  day  of  February,  A.  D.  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-one,  the 
hall  and  lot  of  ground  belonging  to  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of 
Philadelphia,  were  exempted  from  taxation  ;  and  whereas,  in  order  to  afford 
more  extensive  accommodations  for  their  library,  museum,  and  collections 
of  natural  history,  and  to  increase  the  usefulness  of  the  said  Academy  of 
Natural  Sciences,  they  have  sold  their  former  property,  and  applied  the 
proceeds  thereof  towards  the  purchase  of  another  lot  of  ground,  and  the 
erection  thereon  of  a  more  commodious  and  larger  hall :  Therefore, 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  the  hall  and  lot  of  ground 
belonging  to  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  situated  in 
Broad  Street,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  be,  and  is  hereby  exempted  from 
all  state,  county,  corporation,  and  school  taxes,  so  long  as  the  said  hall  and 
Jot  of  ground  shall  belong  to,  and  be  used  for  the  purposes  of  the  said 
Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia. 

WM.  HOPKINS, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

ED.  KINSBURY, 
Speaker  of  the  Senate. 
for      r°'    ''  the  eleventh  day  of  June>  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 

DAVID  R.  PORTER. 


OFFICERS 

OF  THE 

ACADEMY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCES 

OF   PHILADELPHIA, 

FOR  1852. 

PRESIDENT. 
GEORGE  ORD. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

JOHN  PRICE  WETHERILL, 
ROBERT  BRIDGES,  M.  D. 

CORRESPONDING  SECRETARY. 

JOHN  CASSIN. 

RECORDING   SECRETARY. 
B.  HOWARD  RAND,  M.  D. 

LIBRARIAN. 
WM.  S.  ZANTZINGER,  M.  D. 

TREASURER. 
GEORGE  W.  CARPENTER. 

CURATORS. 

JOSEPH  LEIDY,  M.  D. 
WILLIAM  S.  VAUX, 
SAMUEL  ASHMEAD, 
JOHN  CASSIN. 

AUDITORS. 

WILLIAM  S.  VAUX, 
SAMUEL  ASHMEAD, 
ROBERT  PEARSALL. 

COMMITTEE  OP  PUBLICATION. 

WILLIAM  S.  VAUX, 

ROBERT  BRIDGES,  M.  D. 

THOMAS  B.  WILSON,  M.  D. 

ISAAC  LEA, 

W.  S.  W.  RUSCHENBERGER,  M.D. 


STANDING  COMMITTEES  FOR  1852. 


1.  Ethnology. 

John  S.  Phillips, 
James  C.  Fisher, 
Robert  Pearsall. 

'2.   Comparative  Anatomy   and  General 
Zoology. 

Joseph  Leidy, 
Edward  Hallowell, 
John  Xeill. 

3.  Mammalogy. 

James  C.  Fisher, 
Elisha  J.  Lewis, 
S.  W.  Woodhouse. 

4.  Ornithology. 

John  Cassin, 
Edward  Harris, 
Thomas  B.  Wilson. 

5.  Herpetology  and  Ichthyology. 

Edward  Hallowell, 
John  Cassin, 
William  Keller. 

6.  Conchology. 

Isaac  Lea, 

Thomas  B.  Wilson, 

W.  S.  W.  Ruschenberger. 

7.  Entomology  and  Crustacea. 

S.  S.  Haldeman, 
Robert  Bridges, 
W.  S.  Zantzinger. 


8.  Botany. 

R.  Bridges, 

W.  S.  Zantzinger, 

Gavin  Watson. 

9.  Palaeontology. 

T.  A.  Conrad, 
Joseph  Leidy, 
B.  Howard  Rand. 

10.  Geology. 

J.  Price  Wetherill, 
Theodore  F.  Moss, 
Aubrey  H.  Smith. 

11.  Mineralogy. 

Wm.  S.  Vaux, 
Samuel  Ashmead, 
Charles  M.  Wetherill, 

12.  Physics. 

Benjamin  H.  Coates, 
James  C.  Fisher, 
William  Parker  Foulke. 

13.  Library. 

Thomas  B.  Wilson, 
Robert  Bridges, 
Robert  E.  Peterson. 

14.  Proceedings. 

William  S.  Zantzinger, 

Joseph  Leidy, 

W.  S.  W.  Ruschenberger. 


MEMBERS 

OF  THE 

ACADEMY  OF  NATUEAL  SCIENCES  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 

[DECEMBER  31,  1851.] 


fST"  Names  of  members  known  to  be  deceased  are  in  italics. 

Names  of  life  members  are  preceded  by  an  asterisk  (*). 

Names  of  members  who  are  not  residents  of  the  city,  are  followed  by  the  let- 
ters  (K  R.) 

Names  of  those  who  were  originally  elected  correspondents,  and  became  mem- 
bers by  removal  to  the  city,  are  followed  by  (Corres.) 

The  names  of  those  who  have  resigned,  or  who  have  forfeited  their  member- 
ship, are  not  included  in  this  list. 

Correspondents  are  regarded  as  members  when  they  reside  permanently  in  the 
city. 


Allinson,  N.  S.,  M.D.      Dec.  11,  1812. 
Anthony,  Thomas  Jan.  5,  1813. 

Abert,  J.  J.,  Col.  (N.  R.)       Oct.  1828. 


Alden,  Charles  H. 
*Ashmead,  Samuel 
Ashmead,  Samuel  B. 
Allen,  Nathan,  M.  D. 
Allen,  W.  H. 
Allinson,  George  B. 


June,  1837. 
Sept.  1839. 
Jan.  1843. 
Aug.  1841. 
Aug.  1851. 
April,  1847. 


*Barnes,  John,  M.D.  (N.R.)  April,  1812. 
*Barton,  Edward,  M.  D.  Aug.  1815. 
*Brown,  Moses  Feb.  1817. 

*Biddle,  Nicholas  Jan.  1818. 

Bowen  George  T.  Nov.  1822. 

Birch,  William  Y.  Dec.  1823. 

Bonaparte,  Charles  L.  (N.  R.)  Feb.  1824. 
*Bancker,  Charles  N.  April,  1824. 
*Brewer,  John  M.  (Corres.)  Oct.  1820. 
*Beck,  Charles  F.,  M.  D.  June,  1827. 
Betton,  Thos.  F.,  M.D.  (N.  R.)  Dec.  1828. 
13ache,  Alex.  Dallas  (N.  R.)  Jan.  1829. 


Bond,  Henry,  M.  D.  Jan.  1830. 

*Burrough,Marmaduke,M.D.  Nov.  1830. 
^Bridges,  Robert,  M.  D.  Jan.  1835. 
Bowie,  Thos.  L.  Nov.  1835. 

Browne,  Peter  A.  Aug.  1841. 

*Biddle,  Alexander  Aug.  1848. 

Barton,  Thomas  Pennant  April,  1849. 
Belknap,  Henry  (N.  R.)  May,  1849. 
Buck,  Francis  N.  Jan.  1850. 

*Biddle,  Clement,  Jr.  May,  1850. 

Brinton,  John  H.  June,  1851. 

Burtt,  J.  L.,  M.  D.  (N.  R.)  Oct.  1851. 
*Baird,  S.  F.  (N.R.)  (Corres.)  Aug.  1842. 

Coma,  de  Serra,  Joseph,  Feb.  8,  1814. 
Coze,  Alexander  S.  Feb.  21,  1815. 

*  Collins,  Zaccheus  March  7,  1815. 

Cleaver,  Isaac,  M.  D.  Jan.  1817. 

*Clark,  Edward  (N.  R.)  Jan,  1817. 
*Carmait,  Caleb  (N.  R.)  Aug.  1817. 
*Coates,  BenjaminH.,  M.D.  April,  1818. 
^Carpenter,  George  W,  July,  1825. 


76 


LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 


*Clark,  John  Y.,  M.D.  (N.R.)  Feb.  1826. 
*  Conrad,  Solomon  W.        March,  1826. 

*Gerhard,  Wm.  W.,  M.  D.     Nov.  1835. 
Gambel,  Wm.,  M.  D.              Aug.  1843. 

Conrad,  Timothy  A.                Jan.  1831. 

Germain,  Lewis  J.  (N.  R.)  April,  1846. 

Carson,  Joseph,  M.  D.            Oct.  1833. 

Goddard,  Kingston,  Rev.        Jan.  1848. 

Chase,  Heber,  M.  D.                Aug.  1836. 

Grant,  Wm.  Robertson,  M.D.  Dec.  1849. 

*Clay,  Joseph  A.                    Aug.  1837. 

Camac,  William  M.             March,  1839. 

*Haines,  Reuben                      Nov.  1813. 

'*Cresson,  Charles  C.             Sept.  1840. 

*Hare,  Robert                         Nov.  1813. 

*Cassin,  John                        Sept.  1842. 

Hazard,  Samuel  (Corres.)      Jan.  1814. 

Curtis,  Josiah  (N.  R.)           June,  1843. 

*Harlan,  Richard,  M.  D.        Oct.  1815. 

Cuesta,  Ferd.  de  la  (N.  R.)  Nov.  1844. 

*Hays,  Isaac,  M.  D.              July,  1818. 

Cope,  Caleb                             Jan.  1848. 

Hentz,  N.  M.  (N.  R.)            May,  1819. 

*Cooke,  John                          Jan.  1848. 

Hering,  C.  (Corres.)                Oct.  1826. 

Caldcleugh,  A.  Robert           Nov.  1851. 

*Hembel,  Wm.                        Sept.  1824. 

Horsfield,  S.  C.  C.  (N.  R.)      Oct.  1830. 

*Dobson,  Judah                     Nov.  1813. 

Huffnagle,  Ch.,  M.D.(N.  R.)    Nov.  1830. 

Davit,  David  Jones,  M.  D.  June,  1815. 

Hallowell,  Edward,  M.  D.      Feb.  1834. 

*Dulles,  Joseph  H.                Feb.  1816. 

*Harris,  Edward  (N.  R.)      July,  1835. 

*Dielz,  Rudolph                      Jan.  1821. 

*Haldeman,  Sam.  S.  (N.  R.)  Jan.  1837. 

Dunn,  A'athan  (Corres.)       June,  1828. 

*Holmes,  Charles                   Feb.  1838. 

Davis,  Chas.,  M.D.  (N.  R.)  March,  1842. 

Hiester,  JohnP.,  M.D.  (N.R.)Nov.  1843. 

Darrach,  WiUiam,  M.  D.       May,  1844. 

*Haines,  J.  S.  (N.  R.)       March,  1841. 

Dundas,  James                       Aug.  1844. 

Heerman,  Adolph  L.            April,  1845. 

Dickeson,  M.  W.,  M.  D.         Oct.  1846. 

Hartshorne,  Edward,  M.  D.  May,  1847. 

*Haines,  Robert  B.  (N.  R.)    Jan.  1848. 

Eberle,  John,  M.  D.             April,  1819. 

*Horner,  W.  E.,  M.  D.           Feb.  1849. 

*Ellmaker,  Levi                   April,  1829. 

Henry,  Bernard,  M.  D.          May,  1849. 

Elwyn,  Alf.  Langdon,  M.  D.  Dec.  1831. 

Evans,  Edm'dC.,  M.D.  (N.R.)  Nov.  1838. 

Jones,  Thos.  P.,  M.  D.            Dec.  1812. 

*Ellet,  Charles,  Jr.              April,  1842. 

*  James,  Thomas  C.,  M.  D.  March,  1814. 

Emery,  Moses  H.                  Sept.  1847. 

*Jessup,  August  E.                Nov.  1818. 

Johnson,  Walter  R.  (N.  R.)   Feb.  1827. 

Frazier,  Robert                      April,  1814. 

Jackson,  Isaac  R.                   Aug.  1841. 

*  Fisher,  Joseph                    May,  1821. 

*  Jordan,  John                         Jan.  1851. 

Fisher,  Thomas                    April,  1824. 

*Jaudon,  Samuel  (N.  R.)      Jan.  1836. 

Foster,  William  A.  (N.  R.)    Nov.  1833. 

Foster,  Hudson  S.                    Jan.  1834. 

*Kneass,  Wm.                        May,  1814. 

Frazcr,  John  F.                      Aug.  1835. 

*Keating,  Wm.  H.                April,  1816. 

*Frost,  John                        Sept.  1844. 

Keagy,  John  M.,  M.  D.           Jan.  1833. 

French,  Bcnj.  F.  (Corres.)     Jan.  1843. 

Kane,  Elisha  K.,  M.  D.          Dec.  1843. 

Foulke,  Wm.  Parker              Nov.  1849. 

*Kilvington,  Robert             April,  1843. 

Fisher,  James  C.,  M.  D.       July,  1850. 

King,  Edward                     March,  1843. 

Kern,  H.  Richard                  May,  1847. 

*Gilliams,  Jacob  (Found.)  Jan.  25,  1812. 

King,  Charles  R.,  M.  D.        June,  1843. 

Griffith,  R.  E.,  M.  D.            May,  1815. 

Kern,  Benj.  J.,  M.  D.            Sept.  1847. 

Godman,  John  D.                  July,  1821. 

Kern,  Edward  M.                    Oct.  1847. 

Goddard,  Paul  Beck,  M.  D.   Feb.  1829. 

Klemm,  Charles                      Oct.  1847. 

Griscom,  Samuel  S.               Nov.  1830. 

Keller,  Wilhelm,  M.  D.          Nov.  1847. 

Gibbons,  Wm.  P.  (N.  R.)      Nov.  1833. 

Combes,  Sam.  WetherUl     April,  1834. 

*Lukens,  Isaiah                    June,  1812. 

LIST  OF  MEMBERS. 


77 


Le  Conte,  John  (Corres.)       Feb.  1815. 

Pickering,  Chas.,  M.D.  (N.  R.)     1827. 

*Lea,  Isaac                           June,  1815. 

Penrose,  Saml.  S.                    Nov.  1830. 

Lea,  John                               May,  1815. 

*Peterson,  Robt.  E.             April,  1831. 

Longstreth,  Joshua               June,  1815. 

Porter,  R.  R.                        June,  1833. 

*Lesueur,  C.  A.                       Jan.  1818. 

Pearsall,  Robert                     Dec.  1835. 

*Leidy,  Joseph,  M.  D.          July,  1845. 

Phillips,  John  S.                     July,  1836. 

Le  Conte,  J.  L.,M.D.  (Cor.)  Feb.  1845. 

Pepper,  Wm.,  M.  D.               Feb.  1837. 

Land,  John  (N.  R.)                May  1836. 

Poulson,  Charles  A.,  Jr.       Aug.  184L 

Lewis,  Elisha  J.,  M.  D.        July,  1846. 

Percival,  Thomas  C.                Jan.  1845. 

*Lambert,  John                      Nov.  1846. 

Powel,  Samuel                         July,  1847. 

Lea,  M.  Carey                       Sept.  1847. 

Tancoast,  Joseph,  M.D.         Dec.  1847. 

*Lennig,  Charles                     Oct.  1847. 

Patton,  Rev.  John                  Dec.  1851. 

Ludlow,  John  L.,  M.  D.         Nov.  1847. 

Lejee,  Wm.  R.                        Feb.  1848. 

*Rotch,  Joseph                       Feb.  1814. 

Lea,  H.  C.                               Feb.  1848. 

^Randolph,  Richard               May,  1814. 

Lewis,  Francis  W.,  M.  D.        Oct.  1849. 

Richardson,  Caleb                    Dec.  1814. 

*Lennig,  Francis                   July,  1851. 

*Rotch,  Thomas                       Feb.  1816. 

Langstroth,  Rev.  Lorenzo  L.  Sept.  1851. 

Rafinesque,  C.  S.                      Feb.  1816. 

*Read,  James                         Dec.  1824. 

*Mann,  C.  M.  (Founder)       Jan.  1812. 

Reeve,  Mark  M.,  M.  D.       March,  1831. 

*McEuen,  Thos.,  M.  D.        May,  1818. 

Rogers,  Henry  D.  (N.  R.)     Nov.  1833. 

*Morton,  Sam.  Geo.,  M.  D.  April,  1820. 

Rivinus,  Ed.  F.,  M.  D.  (N.  R.)  Jan.  1834. 

*Mitchell,  John  K.,  M.  D.    July,  1822. 

Ryan,  Thomas                          Jan.  1836. 

*Maclure,  Wm.                      July,  1812. 

Rogers,  R.  E.,  M.  D.  (N.  R.)  Feb.  1837. 

Mickle,  Andrew  E.,  M.  D.     June,  1831. 

Rogers,  James  B.,  M.  D.         Oct.  1847. 

Mutter,  Thos.  D.,  M.  D.        July,  1833. 

*Rosengarten,  Samuel  G.     May,  1850. 

McEuen,  Charles                     Dec.  1834. 

Remington,  Richard  P.          Nov.  1850. 

Mifflin,  George                     March,  1835. 

Rice,  W.  M.                            Dec.  1842. 

Miller,  Clement  S.                    Dec.  1836. 

*Rand,  B.  Howard,  M.  D.      Jan.  1851. 

*Markland,  John  H.              May,  1839. 

Ruschenberger,    W.  S.    W., 

*Maclure,  Alexander               Dec.  1840. 

M.D.     (Corres.)        May,  1832. 

Moss,  Theodore  F.                June,  1845. 

McCall,  G.  A.,  Col.  (Corres.)  June  1847. 

*Shinn,  John,  Jr.  (Founder)  Jan.  1812. 

McClellan,  JohnH.  B.,  M.  D.  Nov.  1847. 

*Speakman,  John  (Founder)  Jan.  1812. 

Meigs,  Charles  D.,  M.  D.     April,  1848. 

*Say,  Thomas  (Founder)     April,  1812. 

McMichael,  Wm.  (N.  R.)     June,  1850. 

*Stouse,  Joseph,  M.  D.           May,  1812. 

*Say,  Benjamin                     June,  1813. 

*Norris,  Wm.  Jr.                    Dec.  1830. 

*Smith,  Charles  W.                 Dec.  1815. 

Neill,  John,  M.  D.                 May,  1847. 

*Smith,  Jacob  R.                     Dec.  1815. 

*Norris,  Octavus  A.                Oct.  1849. 

Stockton,  E.  B.                       May,  1815. 

Stewart,  William  (N.R.)      June,  1823. 

*0rd,  George                        Sept.  1815. 

*Spackman,  George,  M.  D.  July,  1825. 

*Smith,  Jos.  P.                      Feb.  1826. 

*Parmantier,  N.  S.  (Found.)  Jan.  1812. 

*Seybert,  Henry                     Dec.  1826. 

*Peirce,  Jacob                       Dec.  1813. 

Steinhaur,  Daniel,  Rev.        July,  1829. 

*Patterson,  Robt.  M.,  M.  D.  Jan.  1816. 

Smith,  John  B.                      April,  1834. 

*Peale,  Titian  R.  (N.  R.)     Aug.  1817. 

*Simmons,  John                    July,  1835. 

*Poulson,  Chas.  A.               Sept.  1823. 

Shoemaker,  Benjamin           Sept.  1835. 

*Pennock,  C.  W.,  M.D.(N.R.)June,  1824. 

Snelling,  Samuel                     Aug.  1836. 

*  Preston,  Jonas,  M.  D.            Jan.  1825. 

*Say,  Mrs.  Lucy  W.  (N.  R.)  Oct.  1841. 

rtueio 


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